Things Go Awry
by SpicedGold
Summary: Life is perfect for Anna right now. She and Elsa are closer than ever. She and Kristoff are getting to know each other. Being princess is much easier than being Queen. Nothing can go wrong, right? A mistake on her part results in the kingdom freezing, magic going awry and a rift between her and Elsa. Will she be able to fix it, before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1- Business as Usual

Chapter 1 – Business as Usual

**Everything is perfect for Anna right now. She's closer than ever to Elsa. She and Kristoff are getting to know one another. But then an argument between her and Elsa turns everything upside down, and she has to somehow figure out how to make things right - before everything is lost.**

* * *

Anna could have stayed where she was all day.

The sun was warm on her face, there were a few clouds scattered around, she could hear the seagulls from the harbour, and everything was peaceful and coated in a layer of contentment. Also, no one could find her and tell her to get off that roof, you are a princess for heaven's sake; get down from there at once.

The tiles were warming her back, and Anna let her eyes slide closed and her mouth quirk up in a cheeky smile. She was supposed to be in the castle, doing some boring thing Elsa had asked her to take care of, but there was still plenty of day left for it, and the sun wasn't going to last forever.

Anna stretched her arms above her head, squirming just a little when the hot tiles burnt her bare skin, but she got used to it quickly and settled down again. How could Elsa possibly stand being indoors when the weather was so perfect?

* * *

Elsa was not amused with the weather. Her study had far too many windows in it, and the sun was streaming in from everywhere, which made it impossible to find somewhere to work without feeling like she was in a sauna and about to melt.

She had already tried creating a little bit of snow, but the stupid heat made it melt, and water and paper didn't mix well. So she was forced to sit in the corner of the room, half hidden by the book shelf (not the most comfortable place in the world) so that she could freeze the walls and at least rest her back against them, while a persist beam of sun draped itself across her right hand and foot.

And after a few minutes of that she had to move again, because her skin was starting to burn, and it was not often that Elsa lamented her looks but she did wish, in the very height of summer, that her skin wasn't so fair that she burnt to a crisp if she so much as walked outdoors.

She let out a mewl of frustration as her new position meant that the sun was in her eyes, and started pacing around, wondering when she was supposed to get everything done if she couldn't even concentrate, and why closing the curtains made the room so stuffy, and you know what, winter in the middle of summer was starting to sound like a darn sensible idea right now.

Elsa fumed in the middle of her study, keeping her hands clenched into fists. _No, don't make another winter. Behave yourself._

She gave up on trying to work, figuring she could just do it all this evening when it was cooler. Of course, then she'd miss out on actually sleeping, but at least she wouldn't pass out from heat exhaustion.

Mostly satisfied with her logic, she decided to find Anna and let her sister know that was she was taking a very spontaneous day off.

* * *

Anna was going to have the weirdest tan lines ever, she realised as the sun moved slightly and a leafy branch cast a dappled shadow onto her shoulder. But moving was so much effort, and she was so comfortable where she was. This was perfect.

"Ahem."

Anna sat up when she heard someone clear their throat very loudly and very close to her. She twisted her upper body around to find her sister glaring at her from the window Anna had used to climb onto the roof in the first place. "Oh. Hi. I thought you were working."

"I thought you were too," Elsa replied.

Anna shrugged. "It's such a nice day, I figured it could wait."

"You're going to burn."

Anna grinned. "No. You might. I'm loving the sun. And what are you doing here anyway?"

"I couldn't concentrate, it was too hot."

"So you came looking for me?"

"Of course. Who else would I want to spend time with?"

Anna scrambled to her feet, nearly overbalancing and sliding away off the roof. But she didn't. "What do you want to do?"

"Well," Elsa looked at the blue sky, "Since it's such great weather . . . do you want to build a snowman?"

* * *

The Royal Ice Master was nearly asleep as his reindeer trundled into the castle courtyard. Kristoff had been away for a week, high up on the mountains, cutting ice. Anna had complained unceasingly about his going away for so long, but luckily he had been out of town for a large part of it.

Now, Sven trotted home quite happily, with his best friend asleep at the wheel.

Kristoff couldn't wait to fall into bed and not wake up again for, maybe, two days. But he knew Anna wouldn't be content with sleep, they would have to talk and cuddle and probably do other things she wasn't allowed to do, so he had taken the opportunity to nap most of the way home.

Sven drew himself to a stop and moaned at Kristoff, startling him awake.

"Whoa, I'm up!" Kristoff rubbed at his eyes. "Thanks, buddy. Uh, let's get you sorted." He unharnessed Sven on autopilot, and after the reindeer licked him on the face he trotted away to find Olaf.

Kristoff was about to go back to his room (Elsa had, after Anna whined at her for a month, allowed Kristoff a room in the castle. And a series of rules to be followed) when he heard Anna screech his name in a pitch he didn't think was possible for humans to make.

"Kristoff!" She launched herself at him, and the only reason Kristoff didn't fall over when Anna appeared on him was because she only weighed as much as a feather. He wrapped his arms around her automatically, momentarily forgetting his tiredness.

"Hey, princess," he said affectionately. "Did you miss me?"

"You know I did," Anna squeezed him hard, wrapped her legs around his waist to stop herself from falling. "Welcome home. You smell like a reindeer."

"Yeah, well," Kristoff untangled her and set her down on the ground again. "That happens when you sleep next to one for a week."

"Are you hungry? Elsa's working all night, so we can eat at any time and then spend the whole night together."

Kristoff grinned. "Sounds great. Can I at least have a bath first?"

"Yup," Anna grabbed his hand and stated pulling him inside. "I just had the best day, I spent all morning lying on the roof and tanning, and then Elsa and I built snowmen for hours. And now you're home, can this day get any better?"

Anna and Kristoff both stopped dead in their tracks at the foot of the spiral staircase leading up to Anna's room when Elsa appeared from an adjoining room. She raised an eyebrow, looking Kristoff up and down, then turned her rather disapproving gaze to Anna. "Where are you two going?"

"Um . . . upstairs?" Anna said uncertainly.

"Why?"

"Because Kristoff just got back, and he was going to have a bath before dinner and-"

Thankfully, Elsa interrupted Anna's nonsensical rambling. "Did something happen to the bathroom attached to his room?"

"… No."

"So why are you two going upstairs to your room?" While Elsa might be happy with Kristoff as a person, and accepting the fact that he was in a relationship with Anna, she spent a lot of time reminding Anna that she was only nineteen, and not married, and she better not get any ideas in her head.

Anna pouted. "Fine. You caught us." She let go of Kristoff's hand. "You're a real buzz kill, you know that?"

"Just doing my job as your older sister," Elsa smiled contentedly, now that the immediate threat of Kristoff corrupting her sister had been taken care of. "I'll see you both for dinner."

"Ugh," Anna groaned after she had left. "How does she always manage to pop up when we're trying to spend some time together?"

Kristoff shrugged. "I don't know. Could be worse." He turned away from her and started heading towards his own room.

"How could it be worse?" Anna asked.

"I'm not frozen, yet, am I?"

* * *

"Anna?" Kristoff knocked lightly on her door about an hour later.

Anna turned from where she was finishing tying her hair up. "Yes? Oh, you look nice."

Kristoff felt a slight blush cover his cheeks. He ran a hand self-consciously through his hair, causing the neatly combed blond locks to fall into disarray again. He had dressed up a little, into the dark grey suit Anna had given him a few months after they started going out. "And you look great, like always."

Anna sent the mirror one last glance, making sure everything was as it should be with her hair, then skipped across the room to him. "What's up?"

"I've got you something." Kristoff felt himself turning red again. He fumbled in his pocket. "I didn't wrap it. I found pretty high up in the mountains frozen in a lake." He withdrew his hand.

A golden chain was hanging from his fingers, and from the chain dangled a strangely shaped crystal, glowing crimson.

"Oh," Anna breathed, touching the crystal gently. It was warm. "It's beautiful. What is it?"

"I think it's a fire crystal, but I'm not completely sure." Kristoff unclasped the chain and set it around Anna's neck. "I stopped off at my family on the way home, but Grand Pappie was resting. Bulda thinks it's a fire crystal, but she's never seen one quite like it before. Do you like it?"

"It's beautiful," Anna rested her fingers on it. She could feel its warmth, and it glowed softly against her skin. "Thank you." She stood up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek.

"Great," Kristoff looked relieved. "Can I escort you to dinner?" He crooked his arm and pointed his elbow at her.

"Of course," Anna returned his silly grin and linked her arm through his.

* * *

"Elsa!" Anna burst into the dining room with her usual lack of grace, with Kristoff attached to her. "Look at my new necklace."

Elsa was sitting at the head of the table patiently awaiting their arrival. Anna was never punctual and before Kristoff had started living with them he had never had to worry about the time before, so Elsa never expected either of them to be on time for anything. She couldn't help but smile as Anna flounced towards her.

"Look, look!" Anna let go of Kristoff so she could lean over in front of Elsa. The red crystal dangled.

"It's beautiful," Elsa admitted.

"I know, right?" Anna plopped into her seat on the corner, and Kristoff slid into place next to her. "Kristoff found it in a lake."

He nodded. "Yeah, it was glowing pretty brightly."

"It still is," Elsa observed. "Why is that?"

"I don't know. I think it's some sort of magic stone. I'll take it with me next time I visit my family, and find out what is it."

The servants brought in dinner, and they started eating in silence. After a moment, Anna glanced at her sister.

"Elsa?"

"Yes?"

"What are you doing tonight?"

"Finishing the work I didn't do because I was too busy building snowmen with you," Elsa smiled.

"Will that take long?"

"Most of the night, I think."

"All night?" Anna enquired.

"Well, most likely," Elsa admitted. "I didn't really get anything done today."

"So you won't be going to bed at all?"

"Don't worry about me, Anna, I'll be fine. I've slept on the couch in my study plenty of times."

"Okay. Sounds good." Anna continued with her meal, which made Elsa slightly suspicious as to why Anna was suddenly questioning her sleeping habits, but she chalked it up to the good intention of ensuring she was sufficiently rested.

The rest of the meal continued in relative silence; neither Elsa nor Kristoff were particularly chatty, and Anna was busy eating. She seemed distracted, and whirled Kristoff away as soon as he had finished.

"Anna." Elsa's voice stopped her in her tracks.

Anna looked innocently over her shoulder. "Yes?"

"I know why you want to know where I am tonight, so here's what we're going to do about it."

Kristoff instantly turned bright red, but Anna remained calm.

"If the two of you are going to spend the night together, 'talking', despite the fact that I've forbidden it, you are going to leave your bedroom door open all night. Got it?"

"Of course," Anna said. "Got it."

Elsa bit back a sigh as Anna left. She didn't know why she bothered; she was just stuck with the idea that her sister and her boyfriend should not be spending so much time together, certainly not at night. She supposed it had something to do with her upbringing; it wasn't proper to spend nights with men you weren't married to, and while Anna was a cheeky free spirit, Elsa was still living in a hangover from her childhood; _be the good girl you always have to be._

Why couldn't her parents have taught _that_ to Anna?

* * *

"Your sister isn't pleased with us," Kristoff observed as he followed Anna upstairs.

"She never is." Anna said breezily.

"Maybe we shouldn't anger her. I can just sleep in my room tonight."

Anna glared at him. "Are you scared of her?"

"Yes."

"Kristoff! She won't do anything to you. She just likes to pretend she's all high and mighty, and that I can't have any fun. You've been away for a week; we are spending some time together."

"While I do love spending time with you, I sometimes have nightmares about being frozen."

"Don't worry," Anna said mischievously, "I have a plan."

* * *

Elsa's work didn't take as long as she thought it would. It was certainly very late . . . or very early, one of the two. She glanced at the moon, but it didn't tell her the time.

She stretched leisurely in her chair, feeling utterly satisfied at having done everything that needed to be done. And she even had a few hours before needing to get up. She glanced at the couch across the room.

She had spent a few nights on it, when she was determined to finish things or when she worked so hard that the thought of walking all the way to her room made her nearly pass out. And she knew from experience that the couch was not as comfortable as her bed.

Seeing as she had a few hours before she needed to be up, she decided to forgo the couch and go to her room. She might as well enjoy her rest, however little of it there might be.

Elsa padded softly back to her room, through the pitch black halls of the castle. Everyone was asleep, all the lights were off, and she knew the way by heart so she didn't even need a light. She stopped at her bedroom door, one hand resting on the handle.

From here, she could see Anna's door. The moon was just bright enough to show her that it was open. Elsa smiled. So, Anna could follow instructions after all.

She opened her door quietly, and shut it equally quietly, then stopped to untie her hair and shake out her braid. She should probably change clothes, she thought absently, but the bed was right there, and no one was going to see her. So she just closed her eyes and walked silently across her room, until she felt the bed against the front of her legs and flopped forward-

-And landed on someone.

Elsa couldn't help a slight scream as whoever she landed on suddenly squirmed beneath the blankets, and she jumped off the bed again, her heart beating wildly.

Anna sat up rather suddenly, looking around, and then caught sight of her sister and her expression fell. "Oh. Elsa."

"What on earth are you doing in here?" Elsa asked, one hand over her heart in a fruitless attempt to slow it down. "Wait, what is . . .?" Elsa trailed off as someone else moved the bed as well.

Kristoff peered sheepishly at her.

Elsa narrowed her eyes. "Anna, may I talk to you for a minute? Alone."

Anna shuddered at her tone. "Are you sure? It's late and I-"

"Now."

**:- ) **

**SpicedGold**


	2. Chapter 2 - Ramifications

Chapter 2 – Ramifications

Anna wrapped the bed sheet tighter around her shoulders, hopping from foot to foot in the hall way. It was positively freezing out there, and she wasn't exactly dressed for sub-zero temperatures. She was purposely avoiding Elsa's eyes.

Elsa was staring at her, her expression unreadable, with her arms crossed and her shoulders back, looking more intimidating than Anna had ever seen before.

Anna was hoping Elsa would say something first, because she knew if she started talking she would blurt out something inappropriate and then keep rambling and making it worse. And really, how much worse could it be than having your sister catch you and your boyfriend in her bed?

Elsa didn't say a word, just waited for Anna to crumble.

"I'm sorry!" Anna blurted out, and once she had started talking, she couldn't stop herself. "He's been away, _for a week_, and I missed him, and you're so strict about these things. We can never spend time together, you don't like us staying in the same room. I did what you said, look, my door's open," Anna said lamely. And here came the part that made it worse, "Besides, it's not the first time we've slept in your bed-"

"What?" Elsa almost yelled, taken by surprise.

"Oops," Anna squeaked. "Um, I didn't mean that, slip of the tongue, let me rephrase it, we've totally done this before, no that's no better, um, it's not like you were _using_ it and no one ever disturbs us in there . . ."

Elsa's jaw had dropped, and she was staring at her sister in utter disbelief.

Anna finally ran out of words. "Um . . . so, I should go . . ."

"Oh, no, you're not going anywhere," Elsa said. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

"Can it wait?" Anna pleaded. She needed time to come up with a defence. "It's late, and it's freezing out here."

"I know," Elsa deadpanned.

Of course she did. Anna hopped from foot to foot, because her toes were in danger of falling off and it was summer, damn it; she shouldn't be this cold in summer. "Okay, how much explaining do you want?"

"All of it."

"How much detail?"

"None of it."

"Okay," Anna stood still for a moment, then rambled. "You told me that I wasn't allowed to spend the whole night with Kristoff, and whenever he and I were in a room together, we had to keep the door open. And I know you send people past to check on us all the time. So, when I know you're working late and aren't coming to bed, we go to your room because it's private and . . . is it getting colder in here?"

"Yes."

"And you said I wasn't allowed in _his_ room, so I came up with this, and please, don't punish Kristoff, this was all my idea. Don't be mad at him, he's petrified that you'll freeze him; it's my fault, all of it. And I know you're angry, because you don't really like Kristoff and-"

"What?" Elsa actually interrupted. "No, Anna, I'm angry because you first all disobeyed a specific set of rules. Secondly, you deliberately went behind my back because you knew what you were doing is wrong. Thirdly, _it's my room_, and since the open gates it's the only place I have to myself. Fourth, whether you like to admit it or not, people pay attention to your behaviour and I'm not all that keen on everyone thinking you're out of control."

Anna wrapped herself more securely in the sheet. "Can we talk about it tomorrow?"

Elsa glared at her, but she was clearly considering it. Anna was hoping the extra time would calm her down, because it was very cold right now, and Anna didn't know what to say next without making things worse.

"First thing. In my study. Before I start the rest of my day."

"But you start at like seven in the morning!" Anna pointed out, appalled at having to rise so early.

"Then I will see you at six thirty." Elsa opened the door to her room and shouted inside, "Get out, right now. And pack your things; you're moving out of the castle first thing tomorrow."

"Yes, Queen Elsa," Anna heard Kristoff mumble.

She glared at her sister. "You can't throw him out."

"Actually, I can. Go to bed, _your bed_; you have an early morning meeting scheduled." Elsa's tone of voice left no room for argument. She stepped around Anna, and began storming back to her study.

Anna was relieved to find that the cold went with her.

* * *

Elsa wasn't in a better mood in the morning. Her neck was stiff from a restless night on the couch, and she felt all round irritable and snappy. Part of her was wondering if that was because she was over reacting, after all, Anna was an adult and perfectly capable of making her own choices.

Then again, she was Elsa's little baby sister and Elsa felt a flare of possession towards her, and intense anger at Kristoff for even allowing things to get so out of hand.

Elsa wasn't even sure if things were out of hand or not. She assumed both Anna and Kristoff were behaving perfectly appropriately. A little kissing, a little touching, but certainly nothing more. This 'cuddling all night' thing was what bothered Elsa. Not that she expected Kristoff to take advantage of Anna, and even he tried to she was certain Anna would sock him on the nose, but the whole situation just made her uncomfortable. And it was _her room, her bed_, and no one should be in it except for her, and Elsa knew that was just childish possessiveness talking, but that little fact nearly sent her blood pressure through the roof.

Elsa hoped Anna wouldn't be late, because she really wanted to take a little bit of time before her day started to brush all the knots out of her hair and generally make herself look as though she hadn't slept on a couch.

And right on cue, Elsa heard a tentative knock on the study door.

"Come in, Anna," she called softly.

Anna opened the door slowly, and edged inside, keeping her back against the wall and feeling like a school child being scolded for something. She was equipped for Elsa's wrath in a warm, woollen coat, despite the fact that the sun was already up and beginning to warm Arendelle.

"Hi," she said, unsure of what else to say.

"Do you want to sit down?" Elsa asked.

"No." Anna remained glued to the wall, ready to beat a hasty retreat if needed.

"About last night-" Elsa began.

"It wasn't Kristoff's fault," Anna interrupted.

"I know. I'm willing to assume you're the one calling the shots in that relationship. Anna, you're only nineteen-"

"It's not 'only', that's a perfect age to start making your own decisions, and I'm practically independent!"

"Don't interrupt me. You are only nineteen, and you are not married. It's not right to spend nights with a man. You know that."

"Its true love," Anna mumbled.

"The fact remains that you are, whether you want to admit it or not, a public figure and everything you do reflects on me-"

"Oh, come on," Anna forgot the rule of 'don't interrupt', "Are you really so image-conscious that I can't have a personal life? No one cares what I do; you're just looking for excuses to be mad at me."

Elsa's patience was wearing thin. "Anna. Listen to me. This behaviour is not acceptable; you can't just spend nights with any man whose company you enjoy. You are a princess, and you need to act like one. If word of this gets out-"

"It won't, because no one knows," Anna insisted.

The temperature in the room dropped; Elsa was getting very close to losing her cool completely.

"If word of this gets out," Elsa tried again, but Anna's next blurted sentence derailed her train of thought.

"Elsa, who is going to tell? We've been sleeping together for _two months_ and you never even-" Anna suddenly realised what she had admitted to, and she clamped both hands over her mouth, her eyes widening.

Elsa blinked, and she was aware that her jaw had fallen open, but she wasn't able to close it just yet.

"I didn't mean that!" Anna shouted, as though the volume of her speech could erase what she had last said, "I meant it just the way you've been meaning it, just sleeping _next_ to each other, not the other way!"

"You've actually been _sleeping_ with him?" Elsa repeated in a voice somewhere between yelling and whispering in complete shock.

"Hear me out, because I'm actually proving your point, you were worried about how this makes me look, because we're royalty and we shouldn't be doing this sort of thing and all, but this has been going on for _two months_ and no one knows about it, so clearly we're good at keeping secrets. What no one knows can't hurt them, right?"

"Anna-"

"We've been careful, it's fine!" As the room grew colder, Anna could feel the necklace under her coat growing warmer. It struck her as strange, but now wasn't the time to dwell on it. "I won't get pregnant, we've been so careful-" Anna wasn't prepared for Elsa's next sentence.

Instead of fixating on the fact that her little sister was sleeping around out of wedlock, Elsa felt all the colour drain from her face and she asked in utter disbelief, "Have you been having sex _in my bed_?"

"Oh," Anna looked around nervously. "This is a little awkward . . ."

"Anna!"

Frost was creeping up the walls now; Anna felt the crystal around her neck burn a little hotter. She pulled the chain out from her coat so that it sat on top, shining red, but no longer burning her. "Elsa, listen, I-"

"I'm ending your relationship with him." Her voice was nearly as cold as the air around them.

"What?" Anna gaped. "No, no, you can't do that." She darted forwards a few steps, finding the air closer to Elsa even more frigid than the rest of the room. "Please, Elsa, don't do that."

"What are you expecting me to do?" Elsa challenged, while frost crept up more of the walls and started crackling along the ceiling. "Tell me how you think I should handle this, because so far your judgement has been _utterly flawless_!"

"That's not fair!" Anna shouted back. "I'm not a child anymore; I can do whatever I want!"

The red stone was glowing bright, and Anna could feel its heat through her clothes and warming her chin.

"You might not be a child, but you certainly act like it!" Elsa took a step closer to her sister, both of them now abandoning all reason for yelling at each other in pure anger. "And it's time for you to be a bit more adult in the way you conduct yourself!"

"I'm _so_ adult!" Anna's petulant tone said otherwise. "How much more adult can I be, I'm having _sex_!"

Not her most convincing argument, but it certainly fuelled Elsa on. "_That_ has nothing to do with being adult! I swear, Anna, if you-"

Elsa got just a little bit too close, and the red crystal suddenly shot out a beam of concentrated red light. Elsa automatically raised a hand in defence, and the red light connected with the palm of her hand.

Elsa's hand felt like it was on fire, it felt like there were tiny explosions going off in her blood, a persistent, popping feeling of intermittent agony. Elsa grabbed her injured hand with her other, the sudden pain causing her powers to spiral out of control, but at least it meant her hand was cold and a relief to her burning skin.

Anna took a step back, then another, completely unsure of what to do. She glanced down at the red crystal, but it had cooled and was no longer glowing. It sat innocently on the end of its chain.

Elsa was momentarily derailed, she could feel her heart beat in the palm of her hand, and it was so distracting, like her arm was being shocked over and over again, she couldn't focus. She bit her lower lip, eyes squeezing shut, because this really hurt.

"Elsa?" Anna was about to step towards her again, but as soon as she made that decision the crystal glowed to life, and Anna moved back. It quieted the further she was from her sister.

Elsa was still holding her lower lip between her teeth, probably composing herself before she did or said something stupid. Finally, she settled on hissing through her teeth, "What the hell was that?"

"I have no idea." Anna grabbed the stone. It didn't burn her, it was cool and harmless. "Are you okay?"

"No," Elsa snapped, edgy and in pain and in no mood to try to be friendly. She let go of her hand slowly. Contrary to what her body was telling her, her hand was not on fire. In fact, the only indication that anything was amiss was a small, dark grey mark in the centre of her palm. No blood, no explosions, no ice pick being jammed into her hand over and over.

She took a few deep breaths, and found that as she calmed, the pain lessened.

Anna stayed stock still. "Uh . . . What should I do?"

Elsa glared at her, and Anna took another step back. "I don't really care at this point." She had herself under control; the ice in the room was receding. "Just get out, we'll continue this later."

Anna thought it best not to argue. "Okay." She was half way out the study when she paused, and said softly, "I'm sorry."

Elsa sat down at her desk, flexing the fingers on her hand. She could still feel her heart beat pounding in that hand, and a strange warmth tingled from her fingertips to her elbow. She clasped both her hands together, cooling her skin.

Work would help her focus, she decided. And she could figure out what to do with Anna later. Because her only thought right now was seeing if there were any nearby nunneries with secure lock down facilities.

* * *

"Oh, good, you're still here," Anna burst into Kristoff's room.

He was quietly packing all his stuff up. "Should you be in here?"

She didn't answer him. "Quick question, do fire crystals, um . . . shoot?"

"What?" he asked, clearly confused.

"Because Elsa and I were having a loud discussion about last night," Ann started explaining. "And my crystal kind of . . . shot."

"What? No, crystals don't do that." Kristoff looked a bit closer at her necklace. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure, yes."

"I'll take it go Grand Pappie, see if he knows what it is." He held out a hand expectantly.

Anna raised an eyebrow. "Oh please, do you think I'm not coming with you?"

"Elsa's really mad at you right now. Do you really think the first thing you should do is run away with me? Give me the necklace, stay here."

"If I stay here she's going to yell at me."

"If you leave she's going to yell more."

"She won't know I've left until it's too late, and then we can just stay away for a day or two until she calms down." Anna pointed out. "Now, quick, let's go before she finds more things to complain about."

* * *

Elsa's hand was still uncomfortable. The throbbing pain had ceased, but it still felt uncomfortably warm. She had been resting it on her thigh while she worked, hoping her own cool skin would help. It didn't really, and she was reluctant to use her powers indoors. Ice and paper were never a good mix.

There was a loud knock on the door, and it didn't sound like Anna's knock.

"Come in," she called.

The door opened, and Olaf trundled in. "Hi, Elsa! Are you busy?"

"Yes."

"Can I play here with you for a while? Sven's gone out so there's no one to play with."

Oh. Kristoff must have taken her seriously and left. Elsa wasn't sure how she felt about that. "I'm working, Olaf, so I can't play right now."

"Can I sit with you?"

"Sure."

Olaf charged across the room and made a flying leap for Elsa's lap. She smiled fondly at him as he settled, and realised that this might actually be a good idea. Olaf leaned against her, and she rested her burning hand on his body.

That offered some relief, and the smattering of snow from his flurry was landing on her arm and shoulder. It was wonderfully cold, and Elsa was finally able to get her mind off her hand and back onto her work.

It was a few hours later when Olaf had enough of sitting still, and started squirming around so much that he was more of a hindrance than a handy ice pack that Elsa decided she should take a break. And maybe find Anna, even though she wasn't sure what she was supposed to say.

She assumed the conversation would degenerate into more shouting, and figured she might as well get it over with. She and Olaf wandered through the castle together looking for Anna, but after a while Elsa had to admit defeat.

She found Gerda in the kitchen, arranging the crockery in preparation for lunch. "Have you seen Anna?"

"She left earlier today, your highness," Gerda replied, oblivious to the fact that she had given away Anna's attempted 'sneak away'.

"Left?" Elsa echoed.

"She and Kristoff, I think they were going to visit his family."

"Thanks." Elsa marched outside, then paused, wondering what to do. Did she go storming after Anna like an annoying, over-protective sister? Did she wait until Anna came back home to explode and start yelling like an annoying, over-protective sister?

"So, we're going to visit Kristoff's family?" Olaf questioned. "That'll be nice. I haven't been there in ages. I can show you the way."

"You can?" Elsa had only been there once, and she hadn't exactly been paying attention to the route.

"Sure," Olaf said proudly. "I know exactly how to get there."

"Well, then, I suppose we had better get going."

* * *

"Wait, you _told_ her?" Kristoff repeated slowly, as Sven trotted confidently next to Anna's horse.

"Accidentally," Anna said, "Which is kind of what started the fight."

"So what happened?"

"Well, I said I was sleeping with you, and then she kinda got all mad because of last night-"

"I told you it was a bad idea," Kristoff had to rub it in. "I told you she'd flip if she ever found out."

"Anyway, we were arguing and the stone started glowing and then it, I don't know, shot out this light, which hit her. And then she told me to get out."

"And the stone just went back to normal?"

"Yeah. It's perfectly normal now. In fact, it's glowing less than when you gave it to me."

"Huh," Kristoff wasn't sure what to make of that. "I hope my family can tell us what it is."

They continued the rest of the ride in silence, until they reached the trolls.

Kristoff and Anna were greeted enthusiastically, and one of the younger trolls went off to find Grand Pappie while Anna took the necklace off to show it to Bulda.

"I thought it was a fire crystal," Kristoff said. "But Anna said it shot a beam of light."

"Fire crystals don't do that," Bulda held the stone up, studying it. "It must be something else. But I've never seen anything like it."

"On an unrelated topic," Anna said, sitting cross legged on the ground, "You guys are love experts. If two people are in love, and its true love, it's perfectly okay to have a, um, physical relationship, right?"

Every single one of the trolls turned to face Kristoff and blinked. Bulda asked first, "What have you been up to?"

"This is awkward," Kristoff squirmed, "Maybe we should save this conversation for later. Oh, good!"

Grand Pappie was rolling towards them. The old troll straightened and reached for the necklace. The stone glowed when he got close to it.

"Hey, it glowed like that when Elsa was near it, too," Anna said. "What is it?"

The old troll studied it for a long time, a frown creasing his face. Finally, he asked Kristoff, "Where did you find this?"

"It was frozen in a lake, high up in the mountains."

"This is a Magic Stone."

"We gathered that," Anna said.

Grand Pappie gave her a look. "A Magic Stone, as the name suggests, reacts to magic around it. People used to use these stones to destroy witches, hundreds of years ago. The stones sense magic and attack it."

"It hit Elsa," Anna sounded worried now. "Will she be alright?"

"This is a very small stone," Grand Pappie sounded reassuring; "It's too small to kill her. At best, it might affect her powers for a while, but I'm certain it won't do any long term damage."

"Hm." Anna took the necklace back. "So she'll be fine?"

"Most likely. These stones used to draw their power from the emotions of those wielding them. That's why they were so effective in witch hunting, because the hunters were fuelled by rage and hate, and that made the magic of the stone more potent. You can see it glowing now, because all of us possess magic."

The other trolls crowded around, and the red crystal glowed a little brighter.

"But it's not firing at any of us, because there is no fear and anger here. It won't fire unless provoked."

One of the younger trolls closed both hands on the crystal. "Oo, it's warm!"

"But why would it fire at Elsa?" Kristoff asked.

"I assume it's because she has a higher concentration of magic in her than we do. Her magic is incredibly powerful, just being close to the stone was most likely enough to awaken it. But as I said, if there is no anger and fear nearby, she will be fine."

"Um," Anna said awkwardly, "What if there was a _bit_ of anger, floating around the room at the time?"

The trolls all paused.

"We were kind of fighting," Anna continued sheepishly. "I was angry, and she was angry. Is that a problem?"

"It might be. I would suggest going back home and making sure she is alright. Perhaps it would be best if you leave the stone with me. I'll study it further and see what else I can learn from it."

Anna reluctantly handed the necklace over, but knowing what she knew now, she was a little more concerned for her sister.

Of course, Elsa was probably still fuming, and Grand Pappie said the magic couldn't really hurt her, so perhaps it would be best if Anna stayed for a while. Anyway, Kristoff rarely got to stay with his family for long. At least, this was what Anna told herself to convince herself that saying would be better than going home straightaway.

She and Kristoff settled down, and the trolls regaled them of tales that had happened while they were away. They all clamoured to talk at once, climbing over one another and onto Kristoff in an effort to be heard over the others.

It was a peaceful scene, until the trolls paused as one, and Anna turned around to see what had caused the sudden silence.

Elsa's horse, with Elsa aboard, was trotting slowly towards them.


	3. Chapter 3 - Living Life

Chapter 3 – Living Life

The long ride had actually calmed Elsa down. And having Olaf sitting behind her and nattering away had been soothing, so when her horse halted abruptly at the sight of dozens of moving rocks, Elsa did not jump directly down Anna's throat.

The thought crossed her mind, but after squawking at Anna to act like an adult and be a bit more aware of her image she decided it wouldn't help her case of she completely lost it. Also, she didn't like trolls, and the way they were all staring at her was unnerving.

"Hi, family!" Olaf greeted enthusiastically and started marching towards them, but Elsa grabbed his hand as he passed her and held him in front of her like a very ineffective snowman shield.

"Elsa," Anna edged carefully between trolls to her sister. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you." One of the smaller trolls popped up next to Elsa, and she nearly leapt onto Olaf's head. "Um . . ."

"They won't hurt you," Kristoff assured.

Elsa didn't look terribly convinced, but she allowed Olaf to tow her closer so he could continue with his greeting.

"I'm sorry," Anna said contritely. "Um, about a few things. Mostly the bed thing. I assume that's why you're here, to tell me off a bit more?"

Olaf finally broke out of Elsa's death grip and vanished amongst swarms of giggling trolls, leaving Elsa very much alone and clearly uncomfortable and surrounded by chattering rocks.

Anna snickered to herself, but went to her sister's side. "They're a bit much, I know, but they mean well."

Elsa positioned Anna between herself and the trolls. "I'm sure they do."

"We just came to see what the stone was – I'm sorry it hurt you, by the way – not to avoid you. Well, it wasn't part of the plan, just a happy accident." Anna apologised.

"I'm not angry," Elsa said, grabbing onto Anna's arm as a troll rolled a little close for comfort. "Not at the moment. I'm sure I'll be angry again later. But I assumed you came here to figure out what that strange crystal is, and I would like to know." She clenched her injured hand in a fist, very aware of it and the nagging burning sensation that wouldn't leave.

"It's a Magic Stone," Bulda explained. "It went after you because there's such a high concentration of magic inside you."

"Is it dangerous?" Elsa asked.

"No. It might affect your powers for a while, but nothing more."

That would explain why the injured hand refused to cool down. Now that she had an explanation, Elsa was a lot calmer. "Okay. Thank you. Where is it now?"

"I'll be taking a closer look at it," Grand Pappie spoke up, holding the crystal with both hands. It was glowing gently, responding to the magic around the trolls. "I haven't seen one of these for years, and I want to make sure it's nothing more than a Magic Stone."

"Don't worry," Anna said, "It'll be fine." She beamed at Elsa, hoping that the fact that the crystal was relatively harmless would take Elsa's mind off the fact that she was furious.

It didn't. "We're going home now."

Anna's face fell. "Do we have to? Kristoff doesn't get to see his family much and-"

"Now," Elsa said firmly. "We still have a conversation to finish."

Anna stared at the floor. "Okay. Fine, we're coming. Kristoff, time to go."

"Me?" Kristoff was a safe distance away. "Really?"

Elsa glared at him, and he reluctantly removed various baby trolls from his body and called Sven.

"Thank you for looking at the crystal," Elsa said to all the trolls, edging towards her horse again.

"Come back soon!" They chorused, all waving enthusiastically.

Anna dragged herself back to her horse, dreading the conversation to follow, while Kristoff and Sven shuffled behind them looking even more uncomfortable than she felt. Only Elsa seemed unaffected by the tension, but then again, Anna mused, concealing was kind of her thing.

* * *

The ride home was awkward. At first no one said anything.

Anna was keeping stubbornly silent, Kristoff was determined not to say anything in case he made the situation worse, and Elsa was musing. She never blurted things out without thinking, and she was too busy planning her speech to notice what the other two were up to.

Sven was sulking and dragging his toes, because Olaf was riding with Elsa and not with him.

Elsa broke the silence first. "I'm still ending the relationship between you two."

There was an uncharacteristic silence from Anna, which made Elsa glance at her in surprise.

"Anna?"

"I'm being very mature and _thinking_ before I speak," Anna snarked back.

"Fine." Elsa was nothing if not patient, and she waited for Anna to organise her thoughts.

Finally, Anna settled on the very elaborate, "No."

"'No', what?" Elsa asked irritably.

"No, you can't end our relationship. It's not your decision."

"Yes, it is."

Kristoff slowed Sven down, so that the reindeer fell further behind the sisters and effectively removed himself from the conversation.

"I'm _happy_, doesn't that mean anything to you?" Anna asked, and she was aware that she was giving up on thinking before speaking.

"Of course it does, but-"

And once again, without thinking, Anna blurted out the worse thing she could possibly say, "You _always_ do this whenever anything makes you uncomfortable! This has nothing to do with you; you just won't accept the fact that you can't control everything. And just because you can't handle something doesn't mean you have to take it out on me! You're so _selfish_, why does everything always have to go your way! Don't you see, trying to break up me and Kristoff is just you acting like you used to; you're not happy with the way things are going so you're trying to _shut it out_! If you want to spend your life behind closed doors, then do it, but don't make me do it too!"

Anna spurred her horse into a gallop, and shot off without waiting for a reaction from Elsa.

Elsa sat still on her horse, her eyes wide, as Anna took off. Luckily she didn't need to formulate a response, because the other half of the conversation was disappearing over the horizon.

This left Kristoff in the awkward position of wondering if he should follow Anna or stay where he was.

When Elsa looked back over her shoulder at him, he thought the former might have been preferable. Too late now.

"Two months?" she questioned.

Kristoff felt himself go pale as he realised what she was talking about. "Uh . . . yes."

"Did it, at any point, occur to you that that was inappropriate behaviour?"

"Yes. Every time."

"I don't want you seeing her anymore."

"I got that. But . . ." Kristoff trailed off. Was he supposed to be fighting to save his relationship or not? It was one thing standing up to your girlfriend's sister, but quite another to be outright disobeying the Queen of Arendelle. What a sticky situation.

"Anna is a princess," Elsa continued, "She shouldn't be seeing you at all, I only let it go on this long because she likes you and she needed someone to be there for her."

"So now that you're not being there for her at all, you think it's okay to get rid of the one person who is?"

"I'm trying to-"

"You're trying to keep her away from life," Kristoff said.

Elsa was never going to finish a sentence at this rate, everyone was interrupting her.

"If you don't want me near the castle, I'll stay away." Kristoff urged Sven a little faster, and the reindeer broke into a jog. "But Anna's not going to just let you shut her up again. C'mon, Sven, let's go."

Sven snorted his agreement, and broke into a run.

Elsa drew her horse to a halt, feeling thoroughly abandoned. Olaf watched Sven leave, and asked quietly, "What is everyone fighting about?"

"It's just Anna," Elsa said. "She's . . . well, she's being an idiot."

"That doesn't sound like Anna."

_Show's what you know,_ Elsa thought bitterly. She put her arm around the snowman, because all this tension was making her hand hurt again and Olaf was cool and soothing. He didn't feel as cold as he had earlier, but she wondered if that was her.

"Hey, Elsa?" Olaf asked, a few minutes after they had started riding again.

"Yes?"

"My flurry is slowing down."

Elsa glanced down at him. Sure enough, the little cloud above his head was snowing a bit less. "Its fine, Olaf. Just stay out of the sun for the rest of the day. I'll fix it tomorrow if it's still giving problems."

"Okay."

Elsa kept her hand on his body, but she felt uneasy. She would have fixed his flurry right away, but she couldn't shake the feeling that if she tried, it wouldn't work. She just needed a rest, that was all.

* * *

Anna galloped the rest of the way back to Arendelle, then stormed into the castle to lock herself into her room. If that's where Elsa wanted to her to be, then fine! She would stay here forever if she had to!

Anna's irrationality would probably catch up to her one day, but for now she was completely satisfied with her logic. Because, as ridiculous as it was to declare she was spending forever in her room, it would piss Elsa off and that's the only real goal Anna had in mind right now.

Part of her was angry at Kristoff too, because he hadn't spoken up and defended their relationship. A small part of Anna's brain asked 'what was he supposed to say?' They didn't really have any defence in this whole debacle, all Kristoff could do was apologize.

He couldn't say it would never happen again, because Anna would make sure it would. She kicked at her bed, angrily, trying to get the frustration out somehow. She imagined she would like to freeze things, because that would be a tangible way to get what she was feeling out where she could see it.

Was this how Elsa had felt all those years, alone? As though she might burst if she didn't do something, but there was nothing that could be done? And with that thought, Anna suddenly realised that she was being ridiculous. She was acting like a child; Elsa was right.

She needed to take a deep breath, calm down, and organise her thoughts. Everything was being blown out of proportion.

Anna flopped onto her bed, lying on her back, and stared at the ceiling. She counted her breaths in, and breaths out. She studied the ceiling, and listened to the gentle breeze outside. She just needed to relax, and everything would make more sense. And she would know what to say without making things worse.

Anna stayed where she was for ages, until she was certain Elsa was back. Then she stood up, took a moment to compose herself, and unlocked her bedroom door. Her first destination was Elsa's room, because as much as Elsa liked to convince people that she was the regal, completely in control Queen of Arendelle, she still sulked. She would never admit to it, of course, but Anna had caught her more than once sitting in a petulant huddle and pouting over something that had not gone the way she wanted.

Anna knocked on Elsa's door, holding her breath and waiting for a steely rebuff. There was silence.

Anna knocked once more, just in case Elsa was in there, and was just trying to ignore her. When more silence greeted her, Anna changed tactics and went to Elsa's study.

Sure enough, the door was slightly open, and Anna could see Elsa sitting at her desk. She wasn't working though. She was staring at her injured left hand and opening and closing it over and over again. From where Anna was standing, she couldn't see any magic, and she was reluctant to knock because Elsa looked so engrossed in what she was doing. There was a crease between her eyes, and a look of utter concentration on her face.

Anna hesitated, then knocked once, very lightly.

Elsa looked up immediately, and, strangely enough, tucked her left hand behind her back. "Anna?"

"Are you alright?" All of Anna's carefully rehearsed conversation went out the window as she noticed Elsa looked more worried than anything else. That was unlike her.

"I . . . I'm fine," Elsa replied, and that was telling because Elsa didn't stutter over words, certainly not in situations she knew how to handle.

"You don't look it," Anna crept a little closer.

Elsa sighed, and her shoulders slumped in defeat. She withdrew her hand, holding it in front of her, palm up. Anna could see the little grey mark, but nothing else looked amiss.

"What's wrong?"

"Watch," Elsa said, and while Anna kept her eyes glued to Elsa's palm, nothing happened.

She raised a questioning expression to her sister. "Nothing happened?"

"Exactly." Elsa slumped into her chair.

Anna took a moment to figure out what Elsa meant. "Were you _trying_ to do something?"

Elsa's answer was to pick up a pen with her right hand, which half froze instantly, then pass it to her left hand. The pen remained in the same state of frozenness, and now Anna could see Elsa staring at it, her hand trembling slightly, the crease back between her eyes.

"Oh. Your powers aren't working?"

"Just in this hand," Elsa sighed. She tossed the pen aside, her whole posture deflated. It felt strange, like her hand was numb, it was as though she could still move it, but couldn't really feel it there.

"Grand Pappie said this might happen," Anna reminded her. She was hoping her reminder would be reassuring, but Elsa looked slighter sadder. "It's only temporary."

"How long is temporary?" Elsa asked, even though neither of them knew the answer. "It's just unsettling, that's all. It's like this hand isn't part of me." She looked discontent, even melancholy, so Anna decided not to bring up the reason for her visit.

Instead, she asked, "Do you want me to go back to the trolls, and ask if they know how long it will last?"

Elsa shook her head, staring dully at her lap.

"Well, then-"

Anna was interrupted by Olaf hopping through the door. "Hey, guys! Phew, it's getting hot, isn't it? I love summer." He stopped to grin at them, obviously awaiting a cheery response.

Anna was about to say something back when Olaf's words finally hit her. Getting hot? How would he know, he had his flurry to keep him cool? He shouldn't feel the heat at all. Anna tuned her confusion and questioning to Elsa, and found her sister staring at the snowman with some emotion shining brightly in her eyes.

It was definitely fear.


	4. Chapter 4 - Now we Start to Panic

Chapter 4 – Now we start to Panic

Olaf seemed oblivious to the sudden tension in the room, but Anna noticed it straightaway.

It started with a sudden drop in temperature, which was followed the floor quietly frosting over around where Elsa was sitting. That second part was a bit of a relief, actually, because it meant Elsa's powers were still working.

Elsa was aware that she was breathing harder, because there was a sudden tightness in her chest, and she was afraid that if she took her eyes off Olaf he would disappear.

"It's not that bad, Elsa," Anna said, though in truth she had no idea if it was or wasn't. "He's fine, see? Olaf, tell Elsa you're fine."

"I'm fine," Olaf said agreeably. "I love the heat."

"What if he melts?" Elsa whispered.

"He won't," Anna said, ignoring the tingling at the back of her mind which said she might be lying. "In a day or two, you'll be back to normal."

Elsa nodded, but her heart was speeding up, because she was watching Olaf's cloud and thinking that it should have been snowing a lot more than it was.

"Here," Anna pushed the snowman closer to Elsa, "Fix him up, you'll feel better."

Elsa hesitated, then spun her right hand over Olaf's head. The cloud above him changed shape slightly, then began snowing with its usual amount of snow.

"Thanks," Olaf said, "I was wondering why it was stopping. I'm going outside now!"

"See?" Anna said, trying to lighten the mood. "He's absolutely fine. What's wrong?" Her tone of voice changed when she saw Elsa curling into herself in the seat, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth.

"Nothing."

"It's clearly not 'nothing', I can see you're upset."

"Just . . . arm is burning, a little." Elsa scrunched herself up in her seat, so her left arm was held against her stomach and protected by her folded legs. She was hoping the rest of her body would cool it down.

"Maybe you should stop for the day," Anna suggested. "It's really hot outside; it can't be comfortable for you."

"I've still got things to do," Elsa insisted, but she didn't try to untangle herself.

"You're so stubborn, just take the day off. You can work later when its cooler. Please? I'll feel better if I know you're not here in this stuffy room trying to kill yourself with heat exhaustion."

Elsa gave a defeated sigh. "Alright. I'll stop."

"Now go and relax," Anna insisted. "You'll feel better."

"Fine. I'm going to read." Elsa stood up. "Happy?"

"Yes."

* * *

Elsa didn't end up reading at all. By the time she got back to her room her arm was aching, with a dull kind of pain that would be easy to ignore if she was distracted, but now that she was aware of it, it was the only thing should think about.

So she ended up pacing around her room instead, wringing her hands together in an attempt to offer some relief from the nagging discomfort. It was still too hot, damn it, and she irritably coated the walls of her room in ice.

That made things a bit better, but within a few minutes Elsa noticed the ice receding. She stopped to stare at the walls, and realized it wasn't melting in the heat, the ice was actually disappearing. But . . . that shouldn't happen without her command.

Elsa refroze the room, with a bit more vehemence than last time. This time, she sat down on the edge of her bed and fixed her gaze on the walls. Nothing happened, and for a while Elsa thought she must have imagined it, but then she saw the ice thinning.

She stood up, going to inspect it closer. It was definitely disappearing, vanishing as though she was willing it away herself. But she knew she wasn't. Elsa rested her uninjured hand on the wall, and the ice grew thicker and more securely where she touched. Then she took her left hand and placed it on the wall as well.

To her surprise and discomfort, the wall felt cold to her, uncomfortably cold, so that she had to snatch her hand back. She stared at her palm, and saw water glistening on it, as though the warmth of her hand had melted the ice. That should be impossible as well, it didn't work like that.

She swallowed hard, trying to quell something akin to panic_. It's temporary. It won't last. The trolls said so._

But the trolls had said the magic would _affect_ her powers, they didn't say it would take them away.

Elsa froze the wall again, and again, coating it in layers of ice, to prove to herself that she could still do it and everything would be fine. But the nagging pain in her arm was spreading, and Elsa could feel it pounding at the back of her head. Was this supposed to happen?

At what point did 'maybe' become 'oh no'?

* * *

"We have to go back," Anna announced to Kristoff.

The Ice Master was in the middle of the town square, organizing his things on his sled. Having been evicted from the castle, he figured he should find a more suitable place to stay than in a stable with Sven. (Who was he kidding, that's exactly where he liked being) He looked up from his task, raising one eyebrow at Anna. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Elsa's not right," Anna elaborated. "I think we should back to your family and tell them. Maybe they know how long this will last."

Kristoff didn't leap into his sled and yell at Sven to giddy up like Anna had been expecting. He turned back to what he was doing. "Grand Pappie said it might be a day or so, and it's only been one."

"I know Elsa, and she's a lot more bothered by this than she's letting on. Come on, she'll really appreciate your help."

"I don't think she's appreciating anything I'm doing right now."

"Well, Elsa likes to be in control of things. So if we find out how long this thing with her powers will last, she'll know and she'll feel more in control of the situation. And then she'll be so pleased she'll let you stay in the castle again."

Kristoff thought Anna might be over simplifying Elsa's thought process, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he sighed, and checked Sven's harness. "Okay, we're going. Get in."

"Yay!" Anna jumped into the sled. "This will help our case, I'm sure."

Sven cantered merrily out of Arendelle.

"Really? Because Elsa's real problem is us spending time together, so do you really think she's going to reward your detective skills by letting us spend more time together?"

"She doesn't mind us spending time together," Anna corrected. "She minds the 'activities' we do together."

Kristoff could hear the air quotes around Anna's words, and assumed it was from a previous conversation Anna had with her sister. He shrugged. "Well, it can't hurt to try."

* * *

Sven's love of going fast brought the two of them to the home of the trolls much sooner than Anna was expecting. Night was falling, and the valley looked peaceful, bathed in sunset.

The trolls were surprised to see them back so soon, but that didn't stop them from greeting with much enthusiasm. Anna brushed off most of their welcoming, anxious to figure out what was going on with Elsa's powers.

"Hey," she spotted Bulda and carefully stepped over and around trolls to reach her. "That Magic Stone, how long is it supposed to last for?"

"Is that what brought you back so soon?" Bulda asked.

Anna nodded.

"Well, it shouldn't have caused any problems at all, to be honest, but since you said you two were fighting when the stone fired, it might last for a few days."

"Can you give us a number? Elsa likes things to be specific."

"It's magic, dear, it's not always specific. Elsa's magic is so powerful I wouldn't think it would be affected at all."

"It is. Well, one hand is. She said she can't use her powers in that hand. Should we be worried?"

"Yes." Grand Pappie forced his way to them. He held the glowing stone in one hand. "I've taken a closer look at it."

Anna sat down, so she was more or less at eye level with the old troll.

He closed his hand around the crystal. "This is a very powerful stone. And the more powerful the sorceress it is used on, the more powerful its antimagic is."

"What does that mean for Elsa?"

"If this stone goes near her, it will fire at her. Under ordinary circumstances, all that would do is scramble her powers for a while, maybe for a week at the most."

Oh, Elsa wasn't going to like that.

"But since it fed off of your anger, and hers, I fear it might do much more."

Anna drew in a sharp breath. "Like what?"

"There have been cases like this where the stones have taken the magic from those that possess it. Other times, it takes control of their powers and uses them without any means of being stopped."

This was just getting better and better. "Wait, so you're saying . . . Elsa could lose her powers completely?"

"It's a possibility."

"But what would that mean for her?"

"I would be concerned. Elsa's powers are strongly interlinked with her emotions, and I don't know if one could survive without the other. If this stone does try to take her powers, it might take her life too."

By now, Kristoff had joined them and was sitting next to Anna. She shrunk into his side, looking terrified.

"How can we stop it?" he asked.

"There used to be a counter charm, that was also a stone. But no one has seen any of those stones for hundreds of years. We can't rely on them as a cure."

"What's the other option?"

"Unfortunately, we might have to just wait and see what happens. As long as Elsa stays calm, it might slow the effects of the stone. I'll keep looking and see what else I can find."

"Thank you," Kristoff said. "We'll come back tomorrow and let you know how it's going."

* * *

"'Keep Elsa calm'?" Anna repeated as Sven jogged home. "How on earth are we meant to do that?"

"How hard can it be?" Kristoff asked.

Anna sent him a look indicating he was an idiot. "This is Elsa we're talking about. If we tell her that her powers are going to disappear and probably kill her, she's going to freak out. That won't help. And if we tell her that freaking out won't help, she'll just freak out more because she can't help it. And if we don't tell her, she'll remember that we were arguing and she'll get angry at me, and that'll make it worse. There is no possible way to keep Elsa calm. She's a time bomb!"

It did occur to Kristoff that some of Elsa's emotional unrest might stem from having Anna as a sister, but he kept that thought to himself. "So . . .?"

"I think we should just agree with everything she says, until we know more."

"So . . .?"

"So, temporarily, you and I are broken up and no longer speaking. I am very, very sorry for everything I have done, especially slandering my good name. I will contritely accept any punishment for us sleeping in her bed when she was occupied elsewhere, and we never mention it again."

"That's your plan?"

"Do you have a better one?"

"No . . ."

"Then that's the plan."

Kristoff wisely kept his mouth shut, but he still sent a slightly worried glance at Anna. She looked quite satisfied with her action plan, and had that smug look she got when a scheme was going her way.

They didn't have to put 'the plan' into action immediately, because Kristoff only dropped Anna back at the castle in the middle of the night, so Anna snuck inside and went straight to her room, cleverly avoiding all people and thus having to explain where she had been. While there was a tinge of worry in her stomach as she settled down for the night, or what was left of it, she was fairly certain that Elsa would be fine.

After all, nothing was stronger than Elsa's magic. Right?

* * *

Anna toyed with the idea of talking to Elsa first thing in the morning. Part of her wanted to pretend everything was normal, and a part of her thought that if she did that Elsa would be instantly suspicious. So she lingered in her room before breakfast, hoping that her delay might result in Elsa having already eaten and decided to continue with her day.

One advantage to having a workaholic sister, she was easy to avoid when the need arose.

But when Anna went down to the kitchens later, asking innocently where Elsa was, everyone informed her that the Queen had not arisen yet.

"What?" Anna questioned no one in particular, because that in itself was incredibly strange. Elsa didn't sleep late, and she certainly didn't sleep later than Anna, especially when Anna had specifically taken her time to get up in the hopes that Elsa would already be working.

"I was going to wake her," Kai said, apparently helping himself to a second breakfast. "But she didn't seem well last night, so I thought it best to leave her."

"What do you mean, she didn't seem well?"

"Just not herself."

Anna didn't wait for more explanations. With a noise somewhere between a grunt of frustration and childish huff, she jogged from the kitchens and back upstairs to Elsa's room.

"Hey, Elsa?" Anna hammered on the door, hoping her suddenly, very loud greeting would convey to Elsa the urgency of the situation.

"I'm awake." Elsa sounded very soft and distracted from behind the door.

Anna opened it, and looked inside. Spots of ice were decorating Elsa's walls, and the blankets on her bed were twisted in knots and strewn around. That told Anna more than anything, because Elsa was not a restless sleeper. Anna might frequently wake up with her feet on the pillow and the sheet in the process of strangling her and her hair migrating to the ceiling, but Elsa slept like the dead.

She was sitting on the sill under the window, staring at the sun outside, looking tired and deflated.

Anna edged inside, almost slipping on a patch of ice. "Whoa! Um, are you okay?"

Elsa shook her head.

"What's wrong?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It obviously does, because you're upset by it." The floor was icier closer to Elsa, and Anna had to pick her way carefully to avoiding falling.

"Just not feeling well." Elsa muttered dully.

"Like how, exactly? Is it the magic thing, again?"

"I don't know."

Anna had to stop for a moment, and check her breathing to make sure she wouldn't sound panicked. "Um, how exactly do you feel?"

Elsa closed her eyes and rubbed a hand on her forehead. "I don't know. Cold, I guess. Dizzy. Faint."

"Uh . . . what?"

"And this arm is . . . not numb, but not right." She flexed her left hand. "It doesn't feel right. And I'm tired, and feel heavy."

"There's a lot of ice in here," Anna observed carefully.

Elsa finally looked at her, and her blue eyes were bright. "No, there _was_ a lot of ice. But it keeps disappearing." To Anna's complete surprise, Elsa suddenly burst into tears. "Anna, my powers aren't working properly!"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down," Anna jumped the last patch of ice in order to put an arm around Elsa's shoulders. "It's okay, it'll get better."

"It feels wrong," Elsa whispered. "I feel wrong. What's happening to me?" She sounded close to desperate. "Anna, I can feel everything inside me changing, and I don't know why. And I know it's supposed to be temporary," Anna winced at Elsa's words, "But it doesn't feel that way. Something's wrong."

Anna stayed silent. She was keeping the truth about the stone a secret. She knew that. She also knew that secrets between sisters led to things like impulsive engagements to sociopaths, and frozen cities.

"I'm going back to the trolls," Elsa suddenly declared.

"Wait, what?"

"Something feels wrong, and I need to know why."

"I know why," Anna whispered. She said it so quietly, she was half hoping Elsa wouldn't have heard it.

But Elsa's eyes immediately narrowed, her gaze darting back and forth as she figured out what Anna meant. She pieced it together faster than Anna thought she would. "You went back last night?"

"Yes. I was worried about you."

"And?"

Anna took a deep breath. "Grand Pappie said the stone might take your powers away." She bit her lower lip, wondering how much else to divulge.

Elsa stared at her, and Anna saw her shoulders heaving slightly, and recognised the symptoms of panic well.

"No, Elsa, don't freak out," she said quickly. "It won't help anything; and if you just stay calm it won't get any worse." And now she was lying. Could this week get any better?

"I'm going back to the trolls," Elsa said, and there was a touch of steely determination in her voice. But for all Elsa's boldness, Anna heard her voice tremor. "While I'm gone, I need you to-"

"You're not doing this alone."

"Anna, listen to me-"

"No, you listen." If Anna interrupted much more Elsa was going to be afflicted with a permanent stutter. "I know you're angry at me. And you should be. Maybe not for all the reasons I think, but the fact is that you need me, and I will go with you for this."

"I need you to-"

"To go with you. Because you don't know what's going to happen, and when you're scared you should have someone who loves you, at your side." When Elsa looked like she was going to argue further, Anna cut her off before she had a chance to speak, "And if you're feeling faint, do you really think you should be going off on your own?"

"I'm not going to collapse."

"We don't know that."

"I'll be fine."

"And I'll be right here," Anna laid a hand on Elsa's shoulder. "Now, let's go. Together."

There was no arguing with Anna. Even if Elsa had the energy to argue, Anna wasn't listening. And Anna's ability to tune people out was incredible, so even if Elsa had the words to argue, Anna wouldn't have heard them anyway.

That was how the two sisters found themselves trotting side by side on their horses towards the trolls' valley.

Anna kept a careful eye on Elsa. The Queen was sitting rigidly on her horse, lips pressed together in what Anna assumed was a stubborn attempt to remain poised and in control, despite her condition. Anna knew her too well, though, and could see the dark rings under her eyes, evidence of a sleepless night, and how Elsa's skin was just a little paler than usual. And she knew Elsa was looking determinedly ahead, because if she looked back she would be able to see the light trail of frost following her horse's path.

When they reached the trolls, they were already awake and moving around, and amongst them were Kristoff and Sven.

Elsa made a point of ignoring them, dismounting her horse and walking steadfastly between trolls to find Grand Pappie. The trolls might have thought she was just being stuck up, but Anna knew better. She was terrified.

Anna let Elsa find Grand Pappie alone, and sidled up to Kristoff. "What are you doing here?" she whispered.

"I didn't know where else to go," he whispered back. "Why are you here?"

"Elsa's feeling worse," Anna continued to talk in low tones. "And I told her that her powers might disappear and she wanted to come here right away."

"Did she freak out?"

"Not as much as I thought she would."

"So that's a good thing?"

"I don't know. It seems unlike her, and that's a bit worrying."

"Maybe she's just getting used to the fact that she can't control everything, and she'll be a bit less stick-up-the-arse about things."

"You do realise I can hear you both?" Elsa said, giving them a look from where she was sitting on a rock (not a troll) next to Grand Pappie.

Anna and Kristoff both stopped talking.

"How are you feeling, Elsa?" Grand Pappie asked, touching her lightly with one hand. Her skin was cold, which was not unusual, but the feeling he got from her was different, and unlike she had ever felt before.

"Not great," Elsa admitted. "And since we left the castle, my head's been pounding. The same thing happened when I fixed Olaf's flurry."

"I think you need to stop using your powers for a while," Grand Pappie suggested. "Trying to fight this magic is hurting you."

"It feels wrong, it feels like I have to use them. And this hand," she held up her left hand, "doesn't feel like it's a part of me. It feels hollow and cold."

Anna straightened a bit. That was the second time Elsa had described herself as feeling cold, and it was something she had never said before.

"Stop for a while," Grand Pappie suggested. "Don't do anything with your powers."

Elsa didn't look very happy at the suggestion.

"There is probably some information about this stone somewhere," Grand Pappie continued. "I know your father did a lot of research on magic after you were born. Perhaps there is something about these stones in the castle."

"I'll have a look," Elsa said. She stood up, slowly, because any sudden movements were making the world spin and distort. "Thank you."

Immediately upon returning home, Anna sent several people, including Kristoff, to the library to sort through the vast array of books and find any information on Magic Stones. She even grabbed a few books herself, because Elsa insisted, and brought them to Elsa's room.

Elsa was determined to do some research as well, though Anna suspected that was just to have something to do, because Elsa, contrary to what people thought, was not good at doing nothing. She couldn't stand spending days just sitting still and staring into space, she always had to be achieving something.

Anna was a little confused, returning to Elsa's room, to find her sister in bed, because it was scorching outside and she was considering lifting the 'don't use magic' rule to get Elsa to cool everything down. "Are you alright?"

"I'm cold. I think." Elsa didn't sound certain, but, then again, she had never been cold before.

Anna resisted the urge to worry out loud, and instead just handed Elsa a book and took the others to the window to sit down. "Here. Maybe this will take your mind off it."

Elsa turned the book over a few times. "I know this one."

"Does it mention magic stones?"

"I don't know. I've only read half of it." Elsa flipped the book open and paged through until she found the place she had stopped at. "It might have something useful."

"I hope so, because no one else has found anything." Anna settled in to slog through her book. She preferred novels to research, but she was willing to subject herself to the tedium if it could help Elsa.

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence, each concentrating on their books.

Anna was nearly half way through skimming her book (she figured she didn't have to actually _read_ everything, just look for anything that might relate to magic and crystals) when she heard Elsa move. She looked up from her research, to see Elsa pushing her book aside and snuggling deeper into the blankets. "You okay?"

"No."

Anna jumped to her feet at that. "What's wrong?" It was a very unnecessary question, because right away Anna could see that Elsa was curling up under her blankets (in this heat, Anna thought, something's very, very wrong) and shivering.

Elsa didn't shiver.

But now Anna could see her contorting in the bed, trying to make herself as small as possible, to trap what little heat she had inside.

Elsa's teeth were chattering. "Anna, is this meant to happen?"

"I don't know." Anna hovered uncertainly.

Elsa couldn't articulate the thought, because it didn't make sense to her, but she felt as though her magic was building up inside and slowly freezing her. But that wasn't possible, that couldn't happen . . . could it?

If she didn't use her magic it was going to freeze her to death. She could feel it, icy cold and settling in every part of her body, making her heavy and solid and unable to move. She needed to use her magic, she needed to get it out!

"Anna, please get out."

"Are you joking? I can't leave you-"

"Now!" Elsa's tone of voice left no room for arguments, and she sounded so angry that Anna forgot all further protests and ran.

She had the door half closed when a burst of powerful snow slammed it the rest of the way shut, nearly knocking her onto her face in the process. She stumbled forward, managing to remain on her feet, with her heart beating a million miles a minute.

What would happen to Elsa now?

Anna was standing undecided in the hall way when Olaf came trotting around the corner and spotted her.

"Hi, Anna!" he waved both hands cheerily.

Anna waved back, still catching her breath.

One of Olaf's twig arms suddenly detached from his body and landed on the floor. "Woops," the snowman said, picking it up again. "That's the second time it's done that."

He jammed the twig in his side, but it fell off again. Olaf blinked at it. "That's odd."

"What's odd?" Anna approached him cautiously.

"My arm is not working." Olaf picked it up again, and stuck it more forcefully onto his torso. The arm stayed put for a second, then fell. "Oh, well, I'll just carry it around for a while."

"Wait, Olaf," Anna said. "Can you . . . move that arm?"

"Nope."

"So it just . . . stopped being magic?"

"I think so." Olaf picked up the discarded limb. He didn't look particularly worried. "I lost a button, too. It fell off and wouldn't stick on again."

_Okay, don't freak out. This is perfectly normal. No, it's not. The stone was meant to _affect_ her magic, not reverse it . . ._ Anna suddenly realised what was happening. Olaf's cloud. His arm. His button. Elsa's magic was reversing.

Olaf was going to disappear.


	5. Chapter 5 - Olaf's Demise

Chapter 5 – Olaf's demise

**This chapter is where this whole story came from, actually. I got the idea whilst going through a thrilling situation with my sister that I never want to repeat again, with blood and panicking and feeling like the world was ending. But it didn't, and it spawned a Frozen fanfic, so, silver linings. :-)**

Anna ran to the library first, in case anyone had found out something about the stones, or Elsa's magic, or something that would tell her what to do.

Kristoff was sitting on the floor in the library, paging through a large, tedious looking book. There were people dotted all around him doing the exact same thing. He looked up when Anna made a panicked, rushed entrance. "Hi?"

"Olaf's melting," she blurted out.

"What?" Kristoff jumped to his feet. "That's not possible!"

"What are we going to do?" Anna asked desperately. "What if . . . what if this _does_ kill Elsa?"

Until now, this had seemed like a remote, and very unlikely, possibility. But suddenly, Anna was hit with the realization that _this was possible_. Elsa's magic and Elsa's emotions were one; what if one was taken away? What would happen to whichever was left?

"Is she alright?" Kristoff asked, steering Anna's thought pattern back on track.

"No." Anna's eyes were imploring, begging for someone, _anyone_, to do something.

"Keep looking for anything about Magic Stones," Kristoff told everyone in the library. He turned to Anna. "You've got to tell her what Grand Pappie said. She needs to know."

Anna nodded, but didn't move. Kristoff grabbed her hand and towed her out of the library, towards Elsa's room. Olaf was sitting with his back against the door, holding his arm and looking lost. He still managed to smile when he saw them, and said brightly, "Elsa's not here."

"What?" Anna shouted. "I was gone for two minutes, where is she?"

"She didn't say." Olaf shook his dead arm, as though that might revive it. "I asked her to fix my arm and she just left."

"Left?"

"Yes." Olaf shrugged. "I don't know where she's going."

Kristoff was frowning, obviously trying to puzzle it through. Anna's hand tightened around his, and he glanced down at her. "Where do you think she went?"

Anna's face was determined. "The same place she always goes when things are out of control."

* * *

Elsa's head was fuzzy. She was rocking slightly on her horse, her eyes closed, because if they were open her vision swam and the world back flipped slowly and continually. But there was a nagging desperation in her heart, and she _had_ to keep going.

Every part of her felt cold, the tips of her fingers were tingling and shaking, she wanted to lie down and go to sleep and never wake up again, but something was spurring her onwards.

It was sheer will power that held her upright while her horse galloped, confused by the lack of signals from its rider, but cluing into her desperation and fear. It was hard to breathe, almost impossible at times, and Elsa would find herself sagging on her horse's neck, the prickly mane poking into her cheek and eye, before she managed to gasp in a lungful of air and push herself upright.

She swallowed darkness down, feeling it push at the edges of her vision. She could feel her heart beating, but it felt like it was somewhere very far away, and she thought that maybe if she rode fast enough she could catch up to it.

The North Mountain was looming closer, and the sight of the familiar peak made Elsa smile, softly and tiredly, because the thought of her Ice Palace sparked a tiny glimmer of warmth somewhere deep inside her.

The horse slowed down, snorting questioning, wondering what it was supposed to do now. The snow was thick and tiring, but Elsa's eyes were fixed on the Ice Palace, and she was oblivious to anything else around her.

The horse stopped at the foot of the icy staircase, and Elsa recognised that she needed to dismount. But no part of her body would cooperate, and she tumbled off the side of the horse, landing on her knees in the snow. It was bitingly cold, its chill biting into her skin in a way she had never felt before.

She stared blankly at the snow, unable to lift her head, and she could feel herself trembling. _I'm dying,_ she thought absently. _I'm freezing to death_. It was an absurd thought, but she couldn't summon the energy to care.

The sound of ice creaking made her look up, her neck protesting at the movement, all her muscles aching and languid under the influence of cold. The Ice Palace was the wrong colour. It wasn't beautiful sky blue and pink reflected sunlight.

It looked dark blue, bruised in purple. And as Elsa was staring at it, a pointed turret from the top of the Palace creaked again, then tumbled down the side and crashed into the snow of the mountain. The noise caused Elsa's horse to leap aside, squealing its fear, and gallop back the way it had come.

Elsa was momentarily stunned, processing what was happening, trying to figure out what this meant. Then, a thought rang out clearly in her head_; the Ice Palace was falling down_.

Elsa wanted to scream, but her voice was stuck and frozen. She forced herself to her feet, ignoring the stabbing pain her legs and tried to run, stumble through the snow. She reached the ice stairs, almost slipped, but the fear in her chest was propelling her forwards, and she staggered up them, numb fingers clutching the rails in a futile attempt to remain upright.

The balcony sailed down, narrowly missing her head, and fell into the chasm below with a loud smash.

"No." Elsa's voice finally caught up to her. She crashed both hands against the door of the Palace, and fell forwards onto it, her forehead connected with the ice. "No!"

Another stab of pain went through her as her knees hit the ice, and she felt the whole Palace trembling under her hands. It groaned, sounding as though the whole thing would come crashing down any minute. A chunk of ice fell next to her, shattering into smaller, sharper shards.

Elsa felt something cold in her eyes and on her cheeks, and realised she was crying, and still repeating, over and over again, "No, no, no . . ."

There was a tremendous crash as the Palace began imploding on itself, and Elsa felt the ground beneath her shudder and creak, starting to give way. The whole thing was going to fall, and she was going to fall with it.

"No," she pushed against the door with her hands, trying to hold it up, trying to piece it back together. "No!" she tried, forcing all her will into the gesture, waiting for her powers to fix the damage. "No!" But they wouldn't work.

Another chunk of ice crashed to her side, this time ramming into her hip, and Elsa felt little snowflakes falling around her, and the cold of the ice against her hands and forehead was painful and burning at the same time. The staircase dipped, and sounded like it was snapping, then groaning under the weight of something.

A strong arm suddenly grabbed Elsa around the waist and hauled her upright and away from the doors as more ice began falling around her in deadly sharp icicles.

"No!" she screamed again, hands reaching towards the Palace, trying desperately to keep a hold of it. She fought, kicking and squirming, because this was _her_ Palace and she loved it, and it couldn't fall, she wouldn't let it fall! She kicked again, hands still clutching at thin air, and desperate blue eyes watching the Palace move further away, imploding and falling in an avalanche of groaning ice and snow.

Kristoff pulled her back onto firm ground, and finally let her go.

She dropped onto her knees again, unable to keep herself upright, eyes fixed on the sight of the ice palace collapsing. The sound of the ice falling and crashing into the chasm and the mountain drowned out the sound of Elsa's screaming, and after the ice had settled and become silent, Elsa's sobbing was still echoing around the mountain.

She gasped for air, feeling her throat closing in panic, tears still running down her cheeks. _This could not be happening!_

Kristoff stayed where he was, standing a little behind her. It was a bit awkward watching the Queen of Arendelle have a complete meltdown right in front of him, but he didn't have a choice. Sven was faster than a horse over snow, and Anna had not caught up to them yet.

Eventually Elsa's sobs subsided, and she seemed to notice where she was. She looked at Kristoff over her shoulder, face halfway between heart broken and furious, and snapped, "Why did you pull me away?"

Kristoff blinked. "Um . . . it was falling down around you, you would have been killed."

Elsa didn't have an answer for that, or if she did it was drowned out by her gulping for air, sobbing again, and wrapping her arms around herself.

Kristoff could see her shaking, and took off his jacket. He draped it across her shoulders, and Elsa started at the gesture, moaning bitterly at the floor. "Leave me alone."

"Not going to happen," Kristoff said, sitting down next to her.

She turned her head away from him. "Go away."

He ignored her, and instead put an arm around her shoulders, the same gesture he had seen Anna do a hundred times before. He was hoping the familiarity might calm her down. He could feel how cold she was even through his jacket, and she was still shivering. He put his other arm around her, holding her close to him, and while she struggled to get free, she was weak and unhappy and easily over powered.

She sobbed something else, it was muffled in his chest, so he ignored it, assuming it was probably something along the lines of 'get lost'. Then he remembered that she was still kneeling in the snow, and the goal was not to freeze her to death, so he shifted slightly, preparing to lift her up. "You better get on Sven, he'll keep you warm."

"No."

"You'll freeze, otherwise."

"Good."

Kristoff stood up, easily picking her up with him, and ignoring her sudden protests. "You can complain all you want, but if you freeze, I'll have to listen to Anna telling me it's my fault for the rest of my life."

Sven edged closer, sensing that this was not a time to be boisterous. Kristoff put Elsa on the reindeer's back, making sure his jacket was still wrapped around her. She kept her eyes on the ground, head still tilted away from him, but he noticed that she was shaking slightly less.

Sven grunted something, and Kristoff looked over his shoulder down the mountain.

Anna was finally approaching, her horse labouring through the snow. Considering Anna was not the one trekking through knee high snow, she shouldn't have looked so out of breath.

"Hey," she said, hopping to the ground next to Kristoff. "Is . . . everything alright?"

Kristoff made a 'not sure' face, tilting his head towards Elsa.

She did not look at Anna. The spark of fear had left her eyes, she looked dull and disinterested.

Anna laid a hand softly on Elsa's shoulder, trying to get her sister to look at her. "Elsa? We need to get you home and warm you up."

Elsa shook her head, but that didn't seem like an answer.

"You're going to ride on Sven, because his fur is thicker and he'll keep you warm."

Elsa looked at the ruins of her Ice Palace. The crumple of ice started blurring, and Elsa assumed it was tears obscuring her vision. Then she thought absently, _but I'm not crying._

And then everything felt like it was dropping, her heart, her stomach, and the ground beneath her. She felt like she was falling, blood was rushing somewhere, then the Palace disappeared completely and Elsa's mind went completely black.

* * *

She was shivering when she woke up. There was silence, and it took her a while to figure out where she was. She could hear a fire crackling, and that disoriented her further because she had never had a fire in her room.

She blinked, wondering if her eyes were working, because everything seemed dark. Then she spotted the moon in the sky, and concluded it was just night time and she hadn't gone spontaneously blind.

Her body was still aching, her fingers were still tingling, and her head was apparently stuffed full of cotton wool. She tried to move, and found her body wasn't quite ready to listen. She couldn't get out of bed, she was frozen to the spot. No, wait. Not frozen, just . . . stuck.

She was still cold, but she felt better than she had kneeling on the North Mountain. Much warmer, in fact. She felt something else move, and craned her head, trying to see over her shoulder. She recognised Anna's face, eyes closed, and sleeping soundly next to her. That explained the warmth, but wasn't Anna boiling?

It was summer, and there was a fire going. She must be hot. Elsa tried to wake her, but her voice was a hoarse whisper, with no volume. She gave up, and her tiredness caught her again and pulled her back down to sleep.

* * *

Anna woke first the next morning, because the sun was starting to rise and it was too hot.

She eased out of Elsa's bed, carefully not to jostle her sister, and breathed a sigh of relief as cool air hit her. She sat on the edge of the bed for a while, watching Elsa. She was still breathing, which was a major relief.

Elsa had been so still all night long that Anna had been worried, and had not slept very well herself. But it had been worth it, it seemed, because Elsa was no longer shivering.

Anna stretched, and listened to her shoulders pop, then stood up and decided Elsa would be fine if she slipped out for a minute and got dressed and maybe had something to eat. She opened Elsa's door and nearly tripped over Kristoff, who was sitting on the floor right at the door.

"Hey," he greeted softly.

"What's wrong?" Anna asked.

Kristoff looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. He sighed. "Olaf's gone."

"What? What do you mean, 'gone'?"

Kristoff got stiffly to his feet; he had obviously been waiting there for a few hours. "Melted."

Anna stared at him, her jaw falling open. She blinked, not wanting to believe it. "What?"

Kristoff looked towards the window, where the sun was shining brightly. "I spent last night with Sven. Olaf came down to see us, in the middle of the night. Kept talking about how hot it was. Then he sat down to chat and just . . . disappeared."

Anna glanced back at Elsa's door. "Disappeared?"

"Yeah."

"Then what?"

"I sat with Sven. He's still there. I thought I should tell you."

Anna could imagine it all too clearly; the reindeer lying with his head in a puddle, waiting for his friend to come back, and not understanding why he was gone.

"Elsa's still asleep," Anna said, and started walking away. "I'm going to see if anyone found anything in the library."

"If she gets better," Kristoff trailed after her, sounding subdued. "Will she be able to bring him back?"

Anna bit her lip, and answered honestly. "I don't know."

Kai was in the library when Anna got there, looking as though he hadn't slept all night. He closed the book he was looking through when he saw her, and for once didn't stand up to greet.

"Did you find anything?" Anna asked anxiously.

"No. We've looked through almost every book." Kai rubbed his eyes. "I don't know what to do next."

"I'll think of something," Anna said, but her words lacked conviction. "Are these really all the books we have on magic?"

"Yes. None of them mention anything about-"

"Excuse me," one of the servants in the library interrupted tentatively. "I found something." He held out a folded piece of paper.

Anna took it, opening it and looking at it. "This isn't from a book. It's hand written."

"I found it in one of the books," the servant explained.

Kai stood up to inspect it as well. "That's your father's hand writing."

"It is?" Anna looked at the paper with new interest. "It's some notes. Written in a hurry. Wait, that's Elsa's name." Anna took the paper to the window, so it was easier to read in the light. The ink was slightly faded, but the sun made most of it visible. She squinted, reading bits aloud, "Something about magic. There's Elsa name again. Hey, hey! He's written the stone down!"

Both Kai and Kristoff rushed to her sides.

"It looks like . . . he thought the Magic Stone would get rid of her powers. But that doesn't make sense, why would he want to do that?" Anna made a quizzical face.

Kai coughed suspiciously, and started walking away with his hands behind his back.

"Wait!" Anna shot after him. "You know about this?"

"It's not my place to say anything." Kai studied the top of Anna's head, avoiding her eyes.

"Does Elsa know what this is?" Anna demanded.

Kai sighed. "You'd have to ask her."

"I will." Anna stomped out of the library, and went straight into Elsa's room without knocking.

Elsa was awake. She was sitting on the floor in front of the fire place, a fire place which to her knowledge had never been used before today. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, and she was holding them with her left hand. Her right hand was pointing at the fire, and she was absently making snowflakes, one by one, and watching them evaporate into thin air.

"Elsa?" Anna padded softly to her, and sat down. She held up the paper. "Do you know what this is?"

Elsa glanced disinterestedly at the paper, then frowned. She stared at it, then asked in a whisper, "Where did you find that?"

"In a book. What is it?"

Elsa seemed to shrink, and angled her body away from Anna. "Papa tried to find a way to get rid of my magic."

"Why would he do that?"

Elsa swallowed hard. "That was after . . . after I almost froze you."

"He found one of those stones?" Anna questioned, her voice slow and disbelieving. "And tried to drain your magic?"

"No. He did research on it. We couldn't find any stones."

"We?"

Elsa's cheeks coloured slightly. "I helped with the research."

"Why?"

"I thought . . . I thought if I didn't have my powers, you and I could be together again. Papa found some Magic Stone dust from someone, some apothecary, but it didn't work."

"What did it do?" Anna asked gently, because Elsa was shifting away from her.

"It just made me sick. I threw up for about a week; my powers went completely out of control. Papa thought he'd poisoned me. But I got better, and my magic wasn't affected at all." Elsa drew in a shuddering breath. Her eyes darted to Anna, then to the fire.

"Are you hiding something?"

Elsa nodded. "It doesn't matter. It's not important."

"Don't say that."

"It made it worse," Elsa whispered. "After that, my powers kept getting stronger. It was like the Magic dust did the opposite of what it was supposed to do. It was after that . . . that I first made something come to life."

"Like Olaf?"

"Yeah. But I was afraid, and I destroyed it. I didn't think it would happen again. I didn't know how it happened the first time. I had forgotten all about it." Elsa was staring at the piece of paper again.

"So . . . instead of taking your powers away, it made it even stronger?"

"Yes."

"I wonder why it's not doing that this time," Anna mused out loud. "What's the rest of this about?" She held the paper in front of Elsa's face.

"What to do if it went wrong."

"Well, that sounds important. Do you know what was meant to happen?"

"I don't think . . ." Elsa trailed off, suddenly squeezing her eyes shut. She brought both hands up to her head, knuckles pressing into her temples. Her head was pounding, she could feel her heart beat crashing into her skull, and she couldn't focus. She heard herself whimper, because everything was hurting, and the pain her head was changing from a dull beat into a knife blade.

Anna immediately put her arms around Elsa, because last time the warmth had helped, but Elsa was freezing cold and Anna had to let her go, her skin already turning white with frost bite where Elsa's skin had touched hers. "Elsa? What do you need me to do?"

Elsa shook her head, violently, but that didn't really help Anna and she stayed where she was, uncertainly. Finally, Elsa managed to croak out a few words, "Get out."

"What? I'm not leaving; you obviously need me to do something."

Elsa shook her head again, trying to convey the urgency of the situation to Anna. She could feel a sudden turmoil of snow and ice inside her, and she was going to burst if she didn't let it out. And if she did, it was going to freeze Anna. It wasn't going to cooperate much longer; Elsa could already feel it starting to surface around her. She was going to explode, and Anna was in the way. "Out!"

She couldn't scream, couldn't shout, because her voice was hoarse, and she was struggling to remain in control, and she needed Anna to _understand_ this. But Anna was still in the same place, hovering over her sister, and Elsa could see Anna from the corner of her eye, could see where her heart was, beating and full of life, and if Anna didn't get out it wouldn't be like that for very much longer.

Elsa twisted her body away from Anna, hoping it would help, because at the very second she moved the ice she had been holding back burst out of her, a massive torrent of power that coated everything in the room with cold and snow. It blasted out of her, feeling like it was firing from every pore in her body, and while the magic was leaving her Elsa felt a delicious sense of relief. It tingled all through her, like drawing in a gulp of fresh air after being underwater, and her mind went hazy for a moment, coated in a layer of delirious peace . . .

Then the magic stopped, and Elsa felt cold again. Freezing, in fact, and her body started trembling violently, and there was snow all around her, the fire snuffed out. She wrapped her arms around herself, feebly trying to hold onto some warmth, and risked a glance over her shoulder.

Anna was sitting up, shaking snow off her hair. She had ducked as soon as the first torrent of snow had begun, and to Elsa's immense relief she looked completely fine. Except for when she winced, and rubbed absently at her shoulder. "Elsa? Are you okay?"

Elsa could only nod, her teeth starting to chatter.

Anna winced again, obviously hurting somewhere. She looked around the room. "Okay, I get it now. I should have left. But I'm okay, really. You didn't hit me hard."

"What?" Elsa looked mortified. "I struck you?"

"Well, yeah," Anna admitted. "But that was my fault, and I'm fine, see?" She spread her arms in a theatrical gesture. She looked perfectly fine, but Elsa was terrified she might have frozen her heart again. "I'm fine. But you look freezing. We need to get you warm again."

The piece of paper was somewhere under all the ice. Anna hoped it was not destroyed. She helped Elsa to her feet, ignoring the cold, pulling feeling in her shoulder. She was fine; it was Elsa who needed help. Elsa was the one freezing here, Anna could feel it.

Elsa was going to protest, and fixate on the fact that she hurt Anna with her powers, but the room had apparently decided to start sprinting around her at a rapid rate. Elsa couldn't do anything but hang onto Anna, while everything around her was trapped in a vortex. Elsa could feel everything spinning, whirling in circles and dragging at her head.

She was going to fall. And it looked like a very long way to the floor from here, because as Elsa stared at it the floor rushed away from her. It turned out that it wasn't a problem, because in the next moment Elsa felt a rushing, falling sensation, and a bizarre sense of relief that she and floor would be reunited.

Anna staggered slightly as Elsa became a dead weight, and yelled for Kristoff, or for anyone, to come and help.

It was Kristoff who heard her and came rushing into the room just seconds later, pausing for a moment to take in the fact that the room was adrift in snow. He didn't question it, though, just scrunched through the snow to Anna's side, taking Elsa's limp body from her.

"What happened? Are you okay?" He studied her carefully.

Anna nodded. "I'm fine, Elsa's powers struck me again, but I'll be fine."

"Not if you freeze to death." Kristoff was going to say 'again', but that seemed slightly morbid. He kept the thought to himself. "Can that even happen? Can you freeze more than once?"

"I don't know what's going on right now," Anna said, and there was a touch of irritation in her voice. "Some parts of Elsa's powers are reversing, other parts are getting stronger. None of this makes any sense, and I don't know what to do."

She was vaguely aware of her teeth chattering a bit, because wow, she really felt cold.

Kristoff noticed. "Did the ice strike your heart?"

"No."

"Then Grand Pappie can probably remove it." Kristoff paused, and he was clearly thinking hard. "We're bringing Elsa with us."

"Really?" Anna looked at the unconscious form of her sister, pale and cold. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"If her magic is freezing her, at least it's warmer over there. And the trolls can use their magic to help keep her warm. I think it's the best thing to do right now."

Anna had to agree. "Okay. Let's go."

When they reached the stables, to find Sven and hook him up to the sled, Anna almost wished she hadn't looked inside.

The reindeer was lying down, his expression dejected. His chin was resting in a damp spot on the floor, and there was a carrot and two arm-like twigs scattered around him. He lifted his eyes when he saw Kristoff, but didn't move his body at all.

"Oh," Anna said, and then wasn't sure what to say next. How do you comfort a reindeer?

"Anna, get in the sled," Kristoff was already setting Elsa down carefully, and Anna hopped up, propping Elsa against her shoulder.

Elsa moved slightly, leaning into Anna for warmth.

Kristoff urged Sven to his feet, and the reindeer made a disparaging sound as he was led away from the puddle on the floor. The sound nearly tore Anna's heart in half, because Sven looked thoroughly depressed and bewildered. He couldn't understand where his friend had gone, and no one was able to offer him comfort.

Sven did not gallop enthusiastically out of Arendelle like he usually did. Kristoff had to ask him, over and over, to move forward before the reindeer finally started dragging the sled. He moved into a sulky jog, his head low, occasionally grunting something over his shoulder at Kristoff.

Anna assumed it was a complaint, but she didn't exactly speak reindeer. She was aware of her teeth starting to chatter again, and Kristoff reached for the blanket on the back of the sled and draped it over both sisters.

Elsa jumped at the sudden contact, whipping her head up and looking around. "Where . . .?"

"We're taking you back to the trolls," Anna explained. "Their magic can keep you warm."

Elsa's eyes started drifting closed again. It was so peaceful being asleep. And she was so cold. Her arms and legs were numb, and there was a crackling pain in her abdomen. Sleep would get rid of it, she was sure. And sleep was warm. She leant her head on Anna's shoulder again, eyes closing. She couldn't open them if she wanted to, but that was fine because she was going to just sleep for a while.

"Keep her awake," Kristoff said, then barked at Sven again. "Come on, boy, you need to move faster!"

Sven moved into a lurching canter, but every stride showed his unhappiness. He didn't want to move, and it was only his loyalty to Kristoff that was making him move at all. His heart was not in it, and he laboured with the sled.

"Elsa, talk to me," Anna said. "You were telling me about the Magic Dust that Papa gave you. When it didn't work, what was he going to do?"

Elsa could talk with her eyes closed, so she answered quietly. "I can't remember."

"Of course you can. You were about to tell me." Anna could feel her fingers starting to freeze, an all too familiar sensation. "Tell me."

"Hm," Elsa pushed a bit harder against Anna's shoulder, trying to follow the disappearing warmth. "I can't remember." Her voice was getting softer, drifting away from Anna.

"Then tell me something else. Tell me what your favourite book is, anything."

"Shh," Elsa whispered. "I'm trying to sleep."

"Don't go to sleep." Anna shook her gently. "Hey, stay awake. Tell me what you had for breakfast."

Elsa didn't answer.

Anna was about to shake her again, when Sven suddenly bolted forwards into a flat out gallop.

"What the?" Kristoff looked around, wondering what had startled the reindeer.

Anna pulled the blanket tighter around herself. "Is it snowing?"

Sven's rump, pumping up and down in front of them, was being dusted with snowflakes.

Kristoff looked up. "Yup. It's snowing. In summer. Again."

"That's good."

"How is that good? Both of you are about to freeze to death."

"It's Elsa that makes it snow," Anna pointed out. The Queen was deathly still against Anna's shoulder, and cold as ice. "If it's snowing, she still has her powers, and she's still alive."

"But you won't be," Kristoff said grimly. "Come, Sven, faster!"

The snow had kick-started the reindeer's brain. His muddled, primal logic connected Olaf with snow, and if there was snow there could be Olaf again. Wherever they were going, if it was into a snowstorm it was a step in the right direction.


	6. Chapter 6 - Are all Trolls friendly?

Chapter 6 – Are all trolls friendly?

**I read in passing that Elsa's magic never reached the valley of the trolls (And we all know it didn't, because we all watched the film) because they were love experts and just had tons of love lying around and thawing out her uptight emotional wreck of a winter. Let's assume this is so, because it's marginally important later on. Carry on.**

As always, there was no snow in the valley of the trolls. Inexplicably left out of Elsa's magic hold, it was warm and inviting.

Sven was panting hard, his feet dragging, as he approached. He was completely drained, and coated in a layer of delicate snowflakes that stuck persistently to his fur. When his hooves clopped onto rock instead of snow, he drew to a halt, head hanging low, then plopped into a sitting position.

"Wait here," Kristoff said to Anna.

The Princess nodded, still shivering under the blanket, feeling the cold starting to prickle up her legs. Breathing was a painful struggle, her lungs encrusted in frost and making the air that travelled through her sharp and icy.

"Guys?" Kristoff wandered through the rocks, but none of them stirred at his call. "Any one awake? Grand Pappie? I need your help."

Anna watched, but the rocks remained perfectly round and perfectly still. Not one moved.

"Bulda?" Kristoff knelt down, a hand on one rock. "Wake up, please. I need you all to help me."

There was clearly something wrong, because no trolls were waking up or responding.

Anna tried to get up, but found her legs were too cold to support her, and she had to remain where she was. Also, if she tried to get up, Elsa started falling over. It was still snowing beyond the trolls' valley, and the storm was starting to increase in intensity.

Kristoff looked lost, standing in the middle of the valley with no one answering him. He sent a look to Anna, something pained and uncertain. She couldn't give him any explanation, but she found herself staring at the rocks and willing them to become trolls.

It didn't seem to help.

Kristoff ventured further into the valley, still calling, and kneeling down occasionally to speak directly to an inert rock. He was starting to worry, because his family had never, ever failed to answer him before.

"Kristoff?" A rough, tired voice finally caught his attention.

Kristoff ran towards the sound. "Grand Pappie? Is that you?" He found the old troll, sitting at an entrance to a burrow, looking greyer and wearier than usual. "What's happened to everyone?"

"They all need to rest." The old troll coughed, a raspy sound. "That stone . . . it's not just a Magic Stone."

Kristoff kneeled at Grand Pappie's side, listening intently. "What is it? What has it done to everyone?"

"I told you that it takes magic away. It is trying to drain our magic too. Everyone is resting, trying to conserve energy. They won't wake up until the stone is gone."

"Where is it now?"

Grand Pappie opened his clench hand. The little red stone was glowing softly. "I've been trying to keep it from harming anyone. But it's weakening me."

Kristoff took the stone and shoved it into his pocket. "I'll take it away. But are you able to help Anna? She was struck by Elsa's magic again."

"I thought the weather was strange." Grand Pappie struggled to his feet. "Elsa is obviously feeling guilty."

Kristoff would have probably described her as catatonic, but guilty would explain the storm. "I'll carry you. You can't walk that far."

That was true; the old troll was struggling just to stay on his feet, his energy drained by the stone. He was still heavy, though, and it was not easy for Kristoff to hoist him up and start staggering back towards Anna. He would probably have a sore back after this.

Anna was watching hopefully, and her face lit up when she saw them. "Oh, good, someone's okay." Her voice was hoarse, muted by the cold creeping through her.

Kristoff put Grand Pappie into the sled, and the troll reached over Elsa's sleeping form to take Anna's hand.

He closed his eyes, concentrating, and after a few moments Anna could feel the cold receding, her skin prickling as sensation came flooding back. Then she was aware of the fact that Elsa was absolutely freezing and was still resting against her shoulder.

"Yikes, she's cold," Anna said. "Elsa? Are you awake?"

"She is struggling," Grand Pappie said, sounding even wearier than before. "Her magic is fighting back against the stone's. It's only because she is so powerful that she isn't already dead."

"What?" Anna asked.

"Her magic is trying to get rid of the stone's magic by overpowering it," Grand Pappie explained. "That's why she keeps falling asleep, it's too much for her to handle, and something has to get shut down. Her magic is becoming so intense I'm afraid it might kill her."

"But Elsa can't freeze," Anna said stubbornly. "Her magic protects her against that."

"Perhaps it does. But now it's fighting against something else. And underneath all that magic, Elsa is still only human. There is only so much her body can take. Even if her magic does win, it might be too late to save her."

From outside the valley, the wind intensified, and Anna actually looked quite smug about it. "Hear that? She's still fighting back."

"What do we need to do?" Kristoff asked. "There must be some way to counteract this."

"Where did you find the stone?" the old troll asked.

"Very high up in the mountains. A few days from here."

"I think the answer might be there. I haven't seen a stone like this in hundreds of years, but there used to be magic to reverse it. Perhaps the other stone is up the mountain as well."

"We'll go as fast as we can," Kristoff promised.

"What about Elsa?" Anna asked. "We can't take her with us. And we can't leave her in Arendelle."

"Leave her here," Grand Pappie said. "Our magic here will help her. She'll be alright."

"Her snow can't reach her here," Kristoff added. "She'll freeze in Arendelle, but here she'll still have a chance."

Anna nodded, although she didn't look happy. "Okay. I suppose it's the best option. You're certain she'll be safe here?"

Anna was hoping Grand Pappie would nod enthusiastically and declare, "But of course, she'll be just peachy and toasty warm and ready to resume the argument you two were having the instant you return."

But he didn't, he shook his head in a dismal manner and said, "I only know that here it will take longer for her own magic to destroy her. I don't know how much time it will give you."

Anna tightened an arm around Elsa's shoulders, nervously, and that made Elsa squirm slightly. "Elsa? Are you awake?"

"Hm," Elsa mumbled. "No."

"Kristoff and I are going up the mountain to find the stone that will cure you," Anna explained quickly. "You're going to stay here, with the trolls."

"Don't like trolls," Elsa muttered, and if her voice hadn't been so drowsy it might have been whiny.

"That's okay, you don't have to talk to them. Just sleep and relax, we'll be back as soon as possible."

Kristoff was dragging supplies off his sled and laying a thick pile of blankets near a small geyser in the valley floor that was puffing out hot steam.

"Where's everyone?" Elsa asked, although her eyes had not opened and she hadn't moved. "I can feel a storm. Did I do that?"

"Yes, but everyone is fine. This storm is fine too, you can keep doing that. Kristoff is here, and Sven is here, and everyone at home is fine."

"Where's Olaf?"

Anna jerked involuntarily, suddenly remembering that Elsa didn't know what had happened to the little snowman. Then her mind spun in circles, wondering what to say next. If she told Elsa her magic had reversed Olaf, and he had melted, she might break down like she had at the Ice Palace. This seemed like a fantastic time to lie. "He's in Arendelle. He's a . . . happy snowman."

Elsa seemed satisfied with that, Anna felt her sigh against her shoulder, a frigid breath of air that sent Anna's skin tingling and raised in goose bumps.

Kristoff had finished his abstract bed making, and appeared at the sled. He sent Anna another pained look, no doubt worrying about the trolls and hoping that whatever needed to be done would be done in time.

"Kristoff's going to pick you up." Anna said, and as she had expected her sentence wrenched a protest from Elsa.

"Don't need to be picked up," she mumbled, leaning determinedly into Anna's side. "Perfectly fine."

Elsa had an uncanny knack for denial, Anna was rapidly learning, but she just rolled her eyes and nodded to Kristoff. He grinned, amused at the banter between the two of them, and scooped Elsa up easily. She muttered something else, but no one was listening anymore.

Kristoff set her down gently, and as he expected Elsa immediately shifted towards the steam of the geyser. She looked comfortable enough, so he draped another blanket over her, and turned to Grand Pappie.

The troll was clearly waiting for them to leave. He laid a hand on Kristoff's leg, and said in a rasping voice. "Be fast and be careful. I need to rest as well."

"What exactly are we looking for?"

"The counter charm for that stone should glow when it is near," Grand Pappie explained. "Hurry, and watch the sky. I fear that when Elsa's storm starts to fade, so will her life."

"We'll be faster than ever," Kristoff promised. He jumped back into the sled. "Sven, you've got be fast. Faster than you've ever been before."

The reindeer grunted something which made Anna raise a quizzical eyebrow, but Kristoff answered without missing a beat. "The faster we go, the sooner we can bring Olaf back."

Sven made a cheery guttural grunt and spun them around, taking off in a rapid gallop, into the snowstorm.

* * *

"It took us two days last time," Kristoff said, after Sven was out of breath and had slowed to a more economic trot. "But we were detouring and moving really slowly. I bet we can get there before night fall, since we're going the direct route."

"How can we tell when night falls?" Anna asked, looked pointedly at the sky. It was grey and dark and snowing lightly.

"I have no idea. I assume it'll be much darker."

Sven weighed in with a grunt thrown over his shoulder at them.

"What if it's too dark to see?" Anna asked. "It'll take forever searching for a crystal in the dark."

"It's going to glow if we go near it," Kristoff said sensibly. "We could wander in aimless circles and still find it."

"If it's even there to be found." Anna was feeling decidedly morbid at the moment, because everything seemed to be piling up against them.

"Of course it will be. Sven, what are you doing?"

The reindeer was plodding through the snow, and the expression he sent back at Kristoff clearly stated that.

"It's the other way," Kristoff pointed slightly to the right. "This way will get us there faster."

Sven pulled left, bawling his disagreement.

"Yes, it is! Go right!"

Sven ploughed determinedly to the left.

"Well," Anna said. "Do we listen to him, or you?"

"Well, me, obviously-" Kristoff stopped when Sven halted, turned as far as his harness would allow and fixed them both with a glare. The reindeer was adamant in his route.

Kristoff sighed, and slumped in defeat. "You know what; we're just looking for a crystal. He's looking for his best friend. Okay, Sven, we'll take your route. I trust you."

Sven beamed, and trotted along with renewed vigour.

* * *

Night was definitely starting to fall, but the reindeer's jaunty steps did not flag. He was determined to keep going, even with Anna dozing against Kristoff's side, and the Ice Harvester letting the animal pull the sled whichever way he wanted.

Kristoff stayed awake, watching the sky and looking for any changes in weather that might indicate a problem. So far the snow was falling lightly, but constantly. There were no stars visible, they were all hidden behind a veil of clouds, and it was growing very dark around them.

Kristoff lit his lantern, giving Sven a clearer view of his footing. The mountain was growing steeper, the landscape punctuated by rocks and trees which made navigating a sled challenging. Sven slowed to a walk in some places, but as soon as the ground was relatively smooth he was away in the trot again. Kristoff was certain he must be growing tired, but Sven wasn't planning to stop any time soon.

Anna slept soundly all night long. The last few days had been long and confusing, and her tiredness had finally caught up with her. Besides, Kristoff was right next to her, strong and sturdy and warm, and she felt safe enough to drift into dreamland without worrying about what would happen next. Sleep logic defies normal logic, and Anna was secure in the knowledge that as long as Kristoff was there, things wouldn't get any worse in the night. Rather, all disasters would pause until she was refreshed and ready to take them on.

Elsa would be fine. Olaf would be fine. Everything would be alright. That was the only possibility Anna would consider, because the alternative was too bleak to even contemplate.

Because if Anna failed in this, she would lose her sister for good.

* * *

Elsa's hypothermic, delirious sleep was interrupted by the persistent nagging of her powers, raging inside her and demanding attention. A storm was rattling around inside her, growing in intensity with every second that passed.

It was powerful enough to rouse her, remind her that she was still alive and she needed to do something before she exploded. She drifted back to sleep, flinging a thought into the storm, _fine, let it go. Let it all go._

But the storm inside groaned and fought, unable to escape within the trolls' valley. Both times this had happened, Elsa had been in the castle and it had been easy to just let the magic out. She hadn't needed to think about it. But now, the magic was trapped, and it was panicking. It was hammering at her, dying to get out, ricocheting off every part of her body trying to find an escape.

Elsa needed to get up. She needed to get out of the valley where her magic could leave.

But it was so warm where she was; and the storm was heavy and hard to lift. She didn't want to move, and it came down to which was more persistent, her magic trying to get out or the cold sleep that had a grip on her brain.

For now, the sleep won, and Elsa drifted off again, ignoring the howling in her ears of a desperate storm. Black unconsciousness was so much more inviting, and easier to move towards.

* * *

There was no storm over the lake where Kristoff had found the crystal.

The storm clouds were staying away, cutting off abruptly as the lake came into view, frozen solid and on a perpetually icy part of the mountain.

Dawn light was starting to peak around the mountain tops, and a beam of sunlight landed on Anna's face, coaxing her out of sleep. She squinted, blinked, and rubbed at her eyes. "What . . . are we there?"

Kristoff was half asleep, head lolling from side to side as Sven rocked them, and didn't answer. He had spent most of the night in a half asleep daze, which was not particularly refreshing but it was enough to stop him dropping from exhaustion.

Sven stopped at the edge of the frozen lake, looking around. The lake was not big, one side of it was blocked by a wall of rock, with several rocks jutting through the ice and creating an icy maze. The other side was flanked with skeletons of trees, leafless and bare. The whole place gave the feeling of being virtually untouched, and Anna imagined Kristoff and Sven had been the first people to visit it in years.

She stepped onto the ground, and the snow crunched loudly and echoed off the sheer rock walls enclosing half the lake. "Whoa," she said softly, and her words bounced back to her in an equally soft echo. "This place is beautiful."

"I was hoping to bring you here under less stressful circumstances," Kristoff said, trying to wake himself up. "Maybe for a weekend."

"Okay, sure, sounds romantic," Anna said dismissively. "Where did you find the crystal?"

"Near the rocks," Kristoff joined Anna at the edge of the lake. He dug the red crystal from his pocket. It was not glowing at all. "Okay, let's play treasure hunt."

Anna stepped carefully onto the frozen lake. "Are you sure the ice is thick enough to hold me?"

"It held me and Sven," Kristoff pointed out. "I think you weigh less than a reindeer."

Anna stepped cautiously across the ice. Elsa might be able to run around and up ice, in heels, without slipping, but Anna could not and landed on her backside more times than she liked to admit. So she progressed very slowly, shuffling, to the rocks breaking the surface of the lake.

Kristoff was much more sure footed, having spent most of his life traipsing across ice, and was already circling rocks and holding the stone up expectantly.

Anna skidded into a rock, taller than herself and three times as wide. She propped herself up with both hands, as though the rock might provide traction, and edged around it, away from Kristoff. The other side of the rock revealed the cliff face, and a small crack which, as Anna approached, grew larger until it was an opening large enough to walk through, leading into a dark cave. "Kristoff?"

"Yeah?"

"There's a cave here." Anna wobbled unsteadily, then stepped off the ice onto the floor of the cave and sighed in relief. She was far less likely to slip and fall now.

Kristoff joined her, and as soon as he was standing on the cave floor the stone in his hand flared to life, emitting a powerful red glow. The inside of the cave lit up like a Christmas tree, a thousand different colours of light embedded in the walls shone back at them. It sparkled in rainbow waves, rendering both of them completely speechless.

"Wow," Anna finally said, looking around. Lights of all colours shone from the walls and ceiling, and closer inspection revealed thousands of stones all glowing with their own light. She stepped deeper into the cave, wondering how many there were, and how far they went. It was like stepping into a diamond mine, with every colour imaginable in front of her. She was staring at the ceiling, walking forward, when Kristoff suddenly grabbed her arm.

She stopped, confused, but when she looked at him she froze, because he was holding one finger urgently to his lips and frowning. She looked around, almost holding her breath, for the reason to stop. All she could see was a large, grey rock in the middle of the cave, but nothing to warrant any panic.

"That's a troll," Kristoff whispered.

Anna looked at the rock doubtfully. It was huge, almost the same size as her, and round, and completely still. "Are you sure?"

"I think I would know." Kristoff said in hushed tones. "Don't move. Don't wake it."

"Why not? I thought trolls were friendly."

"Not ones that live alone. Just be very quiet, keep looking for the right stone." He slid his foot along the cave floor, inching towards the rock, keeping the red crystal held aloft and watching for any unusual activity from the other stones.

Anna stayed exactly where she was, unsure of whether or not to move. She didn't think trolls were dangerous, but Kristoff seemed unsettled. So she concentrated on breathing very quietly, eyes darting around for one stone glowing more than the others.

It was going to be impossible to tell, she realised, because the glow through the cave was constantly undulating, and changing. She stared at the stones until her eyes hurt, willing herself to find some minute difference in one of them that would be able to help Elsa. There was a blue one that flashed a bit more persistently than the others.

"Kristoff?"

He turned silently, nodding, but not saying anything.

"The blue one." She pointed. "Go towards that one."

It was on the other side of the sleeping troll. Kristoff had to edge around it, walking slowly and deliberately so as not to make a sound. He held the red crystal up, and the blue one roared to life, shining brighter than any other stone in the cave. Kristoff squinted at the bright light, feeling the red stone suddenly heating up, and the colour inside it began swirling around, as though coming to life.

To their surprise, the blue crystal reacted more violently, shooting a beam of light towards the red crystal. It burnt like fire, and Kristoff snatched his hand away, managing to remain completely silent despite the pain. But he had dropped the stone, and it landed on the cave floor with a sharp, echoing clink.

Anna and Kristoff both paused, eyes meeting uneasily over the troll. There was a moment of silence, then the rock heaved, and groaned, and suddenly rose up into troll form, towering over their heads and facing directly at Anna.

The troll snorted, blinking. It looked enormous and incredibly unfriendly, Anna noticed. Its eyes were grey, and its big nose was wrinkled. Its expression was angry, and the teeth Anna could see were pointed and jagged.

"Oh boy," she whispered, her heart pounding as it fixed its grey eyes directly on her.

"What are you doing in my cave?" it rumbled, its voice loud.

"Um . . . sight-seeing?"

Kristoff edged towards the blue stone, so far unseen, and reached for it, hoping to pry it from the wall and run. His fingers clamped around the stone, but it was lodged into the rock and wouldn't come free.

Anna kept talking, because that was her go-to move when frightened. "We saw the lights in the cave and came to see because they looked so pretty, and-"

"Lights can only be seen with magic," the troll interrupted gruffly, taking a single step towards her.

Anna took a step back. "Well, we had a magic stone with us, you see so-"

"That's MINE!" the troll roared inexplicably. "Where is MY STONE!"

Its breath was like clay, dusty and heavy, and Anna coughed. "Uh, it's right there. See?" She pointed innocently at the red stone on the cave floor.

Kristoff finally broke the blue stone free, and jammed it into his pocket before the troll turned around. His only real problem now was the fact that the troll was between him and the exit.

The troll lifted the red stone with massive, clumsy fingers, glaring at Kristoff. It studied it, looking carefully, then roared at Anna. "Where is the magic?"

"What?" Anna faltered. "It's right there-"

"Where is the magic? It's gone." The troll stomped one foot, and the whole cave shook. Several crystals dislodged from the ceiling and tumbled down around them. "You used the magic!"

"I didn't – oh." Anna suddenly realised what the troll must mean. The beam of light that hit Elsa. That was the magic moving from the stone into her. That was going to be tricky to explain. "It went somewhere else."

Kristoff tried to get around the troll, but it noticed him moving and slammed a massive hand into his path.

"You're not leaving until you tell me where the magic went."

"It's gone," Kristoff said. "It went into something else."

"Magic doesn't go," the troll roared. "It moves. Give it back!"

"It can't come back," Anna said. "It's in someone."

"Then cut off their head and shake it out!" the troll demanded, and Anna nearly had a heart attack on the spot at that suggestion.

"What, no, you can't do that," she blurted out. "You can't _do_ that."

"Give me my magic," the troll slammed both fists into the cave floor, and the rocks beneath cracked and fissured from the pressure.

Anna stood undecided for a moment before Kristoff shouted, "Run!" and sprinted past her, grabbing her hand along the way.

Kristoff half dragged her out of the cave and back onto the ice, where Anna immediately slipped and dragged Kristoff down with her. He sat up, put his back against a rock and shoved her with both feet, sending her spiralling across the ice.

Anna would have been offended if it hadn't been an incredibly efficient way to cross the ice, and she spun into the snow near Sven. Kristoff was on his feet again, running, when the troll burst onto the frozen lake with a deafening roar of anger.

His weight caused the ice to crack, and shatter. The troll dropped into the icy water, and Kristoff scrambled across the breaking ice to reach the shore. He crawled the last little bit, but remained completely dry.

"Well," Anna said, helping him up. "That was interesting."

"Very," Kristoff said. "But we got the stone."

"Yay!" Anna was about to hug him when the troll suddenly flailed in the lake, yelling and grunting and unfortunately swimming. Her expression fell. "Oh."

"Run," Kristoff said again, turning towards the sled.

Sven was fidgeting in place, ready to run the instant Kristoff and Anna jumped into the sled.

"Let's go, buddy," Kristoff said, making a valiant leap for the sled. Anna was half a stride behind him, and jumped in. Sven bolted forward.

"Kristoff?" Anna looked behind them. The troll was out of the river and barrelling after them with surprisingly long strides.

He looked as well. "Oh, damn, that's fast. Sven! Little faster!"

Sven was about to accelerate when the troll's heavy steps caught them. Kristoff grabbed Anna, pinned her close to his chest, and jumped from the sled. They landed in the snow, tumbling to a halt, just a second before the troll's fists smashed the sled to tiny pieces, throwing Sven onto his side.

The troll stopped, snorting angrily, and looked around. Its attention was caught by the snowy clouds further down the mountain.

Sven got to his feet, looking around for Kristoff. He was standing with Anna still clutched against him, watching the troll.

The troll grunted again, its eyes frowning in concentration. Then it snarled. "That's my magic down there! You stole it! Now I'll find it again!"

Without a glance at either the reindeer or the people, the troll rolled itself into a ball and began snowballing down the mountain side.

"It can sense magic," Kristoff said haltingly.

"Elsa!" Anna gasped. "It's looking for her!" _Cut off their head and shake it out_, the troll's words rang in Anna's ears. "We have to get there first."

"That's going to be impossible," Kristoff was looking at the track gouged in the snow. "There's no way we're faster than that."

Sven was at his side, looking ready.

"We have to try," Anna insisted. "It's heading towards your family!"

Sven jumped up and down, impatiently. He barely gave Kristoff time to climb onto his back, with Anna behind him, before taking off as fast as he could down the mountain. His hoof beats were loud and rapid, and Anna's heart was beating at the same pace.

_Cut off their head and shake it out_. They had to make it. They had to get there in time.

Sven followed the track the troll had left in the snow, galloping flat out, recklessly fast. With each stride, Anna's fear grew.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Storm Stops

Chapter 7 – The Storm Stops

The storm was getting hard to ignore.

Elsa couldn't get comfortable. There was cold everywhere, choking her, and sleep didn't look like a good idea anymore.

She forced her eyes open, at first seeing nothing, then finally bits of scenery came into focus. Tendrils of steam rising in front of her. Mossy rocks scattered around. A black sky.

She had to get up. There was a part of her brain that was not completely frozen, and it was screaming at her, _get this magic_ out_!_ She knew her magic wouldn't work here. It was just building up inside her, with no possible way to be released. She had to get out of the valley, right now, because if she waited any longer . . . it felt like the pressure of the magic building inside her was going to choke her. She struggled to sit up, all of her heavy and weary.

Then the world spun, like a whirlwind around her, and she closed her eyes again. The world was spinning, the ice inside was freezing, the magic was clawing at her insides. She tried to stand, propped up on aching legs, and fell onto her knees almost immediately. There was a dizzying moment when she didn't know which way was up, which struck her as quite handy because if she didn't know where to faint to, she couldn't faint at all, could she?

Her vision was swirling, everything around her spinning like snow in a hurricane. But the pressure inside urged her to get up again. She could feel her lungs closing, she was breathing through a tiny pinprick. Maybe that was why everything was foggy, she wasn't getting any oxygen.

_Get to the edge of the valley_, she thought. _Before you suffocate_. She tried to stand again, and this time remained relatively upright. She couldn't move though, no part of her body would listen. So she stood, staring at the ground swimming around her, while her magic expanded from the inside and tried to rip through her skin to escape. But it couldn't get out as long as she was in the valley.

She took one staggering step forwards and her legs crumpled, dropping her on her knees again. She imagined it must hurt, but she couldn't feel anything.

_Go to sleep_, her brain said.

It was a very good idea. Elsa let her eyes close as she sat. She couldn't breathe. Maybe it would be easier after she slept. Maybe it would be easier if she never woke up again.

That was even more appealing. Elsa could feel consciousness drifting away, and she was content to let it. It didn't matter if she froze to death, or choked on her own cloying magic. It was annoying her, anyway. And sleeping was comfortable and warm. No one would miss her if she went to sleep forever. There was no one here.

Anna.

_What?_ Elsa pried her eyes open, as a stray thought drifted into focus. _Anna?_

Yes, Anna. She had to get up, because she had to say good bye to Anna before going to sleep. Elsa got to her feet again, wondering vaguely why the ground was like quicksand trying to suck her back down. Head for the snow. That's where the valley ends.

Elsa's sheer stubbornness kept her up, with every halting step becoming more laboured, the pauses between them becoming longer. Then she felt a blast of icy wind, and was relieved because that meant the end of the valley.

Her feet hit snow, and she couldn't stay up any longer. Elsa fell forwards, onto her knees once again, and the second she touched the snow all the power inside burst from her in torrents of ice and snow and frigid wind. Snow was flung around her, in violent jets and flurries, and as it left her Elsa felt ice cold air penetrate her lungs, and a moment of clear headedness took her.

She shivered, all her senses going wild as she realised she was kneeling in snow and it was freezing. It was biting into her skin, from the outside this time, and roaring in her ears and stinging her eyes. _Get back in the valley._ But that blast of magic had left her completely drained. She slumped forward, and tipped onto her side. The wind pulled at her hair, and blew a soft coating of snow over her skin.

_Good bye Anna_. She curled into a ball, and even that languid movement was near impossible. _I love you._

* * *

They had lost sight of the troll. It could be anywhere; it could already be at the valley, tearing Elsa's head off.

Anna was gasping for breath against Kristoff's back, so terrified at the possibility that they might be too late that she couldn't breathe.

Sven's pace was not flagging, and part of her wondered how he was able to sustain it for so long. Especially since the snow had increased suddenly, a faint blizzard starting.

"That's a good sign," Kristoff shouted over the wind and Sven's rapid hoof beats. "She's making the storm worse."

Anna couldn't reply, she just clutched harder at his waist, her eyes watering when sharp snowflakes hit them.

The trail left by the giant troll was easy to follow, and the weight of its body and compacted the snow so that Sven was not labouring through it. She supposed that was a good thing. Anna was so busy trying to breathe that it took her almost four strides before she realised Sven was slowing down.

"Don't slow down," she started, then gulped. "Oh no."

The snow storm was disappearing. Sven's pace faltered, he made a questioning sound. The clouds cleared, the snow stopped. The snow beneath the reindeer's hooves started to melt away, revealing a gouge in the earth showing the troll's progress.

The storm had stopped. The storm had gone. Anna gulped in big lungful's of air, fighting down panic.

The storm couldn't stop. Elsa couldn't stop it right now. The only way it would stop on its own was if she-

Sven picked up the pace again, a new determination surging through him.

"No," Anna whispered. The storm wouldn't stop unless Elsa was dead. "No, no, no." She buried her face in Kristoff's back, muffling her continued repetitions of 'no'.

Kristoff said nothing; his face was set grimly, eyes remaining on the track ahead.

Sven was still running, galloping with all his might, but even he was starting to struggle now. He would have to rest soon, Kristoff knew. And agony tore at his heart, because Sven wouldn't stop unless told to. If he kept running, he might run himself to death. If he stopped running, Elsa and all the trolls were as good as dead.

Sven's strides were laboured, Kristoff could hear him breathing harder now.

"Slow down, buddy," Kristoff whispered. He whispered because he didn't want Anna to hear, because she would scream and cry and beg him to keep going on the remote chance that Elsa was still alive and they would reach her in time. But his whisper didn't reach Sven, with his ears creased back and his mind focused on the singular task of running, running, running.

Kristoff needed to shout, but if he did Anna would know, and she would know he was choosing to save Sven over her sister. Kristoff swallowed the lump in his throat.

He could break Anna's heart or break Sven's body.

"Sven, slow down," Kristoff shouted, because Sven stumbled and his breath was loud and coarse.

He felt Anna gulp, and shudder, but she remained silent.

He felt Sven slow down, his hooves hitting the ground like a dead weight. Sven slowed more, and Kristoff felt a bitter sense of relief. Then the reindeer snorted, once, breathlessly, and increased his stride again.

"Slow down," Kristoff ordered, panicking lest his friend run himself to death unnecessarily.

Sven shook his head, and dug his hooves into the ground with renewed determination.

There was still a snow cloud in the sky. Very small, very grey, and sitting just about where the valley of the trolls was.

* * *

The ground under Elsa was shaking.

The troll was lumbering towards her, each heavy step like a miniature earthquake. It was glaring, menacing, and advancing on her.

She was difficult to see, lying perfectly still and frozen, covered in drifts of snow, at the very edge of the valley of the trolls. The only thing giving her away was her hair blowing gently with the wind, the only part of her moving at all. Her skin was as white as the snow covering her, and the fact that it had stayed settled over her meant she hadn't moved.

The troll stopped right in front of her, snorting misty breaths. It could see the magic inside her, _it's_ magic, _stolen_. The string of crystals around its neck glowed briefly, pointing towards her, showing the troll the way.

All it needed to do was tear her head off and catch the magic that came out. It reached out a large hand, closing a solid, rock hard fist around the top of Elsa's left arm, where the stolen magic was humming strongest. Her skin was bitingly cold, and the troll grunted, feeling its hand tighten at the sensation. It lifted her roughly, pulling her from the snow like a discarded rag doll.

Elsa dangled senselessly, and the troll growled, wondering why she didn't seem more alive. Dead magic wasn't helpful. The troll shook her slightly, shaking the last smattering of snow off her body, and the sudden jerking awakened what was left of Elsa's magic.

It protested feebly, sending tendrils of ice onto the troll's hand. The troll growled again, because the ice was irritating and difficult to ignore. In a fit of rage, it threw Elsa aside, back into the valley. She fell limply, crumpling onto the rocky floor and remaining perfectly still.

The troll stomped into the valley, leaning over her prone form and glaring. Her magic was trapped now, useless within the confines of the valley. The troll could see it running up and down Elsa's body, looking for a way out. It was weak, without the help of Elsa's emotions to spur it on the magic was fading away.

The red crystal's magic, however, was still there, slowly taking over and creeping throughout Elsa. And that was what the troll wanted back. The crystal's magic was pooling in her left arm, and the troll took hold of it again, cautiously. No ice deterred it this time. It was about to rip her arm off, and let the magic free, when it was aware of another presence and huffed in annoyance, its grip around Elsa's arm tightening.

The trolls were stirring, recognising something amiss in their valley. Rocks were shifting back and forth, gently, the trolls struggling to rouse themselves after the magic of the red crystal drained their energy. Then they all sprang to life, turning as one to face the intruder.

Bulda stood at the head of the group. She had no idea what Elsa was doing there, or why she was being dangled like an ornament, but she assumed it was not supposed to be happening.

"And just who do you think you are?" she asked, hands on her hips.

The giant troll growled at her. "Go away."

"Uh uh, this is my valley, mister. Put her down right now."

The troll lifted Elsa higher, defiantly. "Took my magic. Want it back."

"If you don't put her down right now, I'll kick your ass from here back to whatever cave you crawled out from."

The giant troll looked utterly baffled. It clearly wasn't familiar with sass, in any way, shape or form. It repeated, confused, "Took my magic. Want it back."

Bulda was not about to take no for an answer. "Put her down. Now."

"Magic first."

"I'll beat your giant rock head first." She stepped forwards, boldly, and all the trolls behind her stepped forwards as well.

The troll contemplated them, frowning and feral and clearly struggling to comprehend what was going on. Like most primeval creatures, it turned to the option that had worked the best so far: brute strength.

It dropped Elsa, and advanced on Bulda, towering above her and raising both fists above its head. With a loud roar, it smashed its fists down, fully intending to smash and destroy every single troll that came at it, until there were none left and it could continue dismembering Elsa and getting its magic back.

* * *

Elsa was sleeping. But the black fog in her brain had something else floating it in. There was an irritating sliver of logic there, which every now and again brushed a little too close to her consciousness to be comfortable.

She just wanted to sleep. It was so cold. Her body was frozen. Her breath was frozen. She wasn't going to get up ever again.

But then reality popped up again, and urged her to wake up. She felt a vaguely familiar sensation travel through her left arm, like she used to feel when she used her ice powers.

She didn't have those anymore, her sleepy brain reminded her. She just had sleep. Go back to sleep.

Then reality pushed a little harder against her, and Elsa realised she wasn't breathing and that was a problem. She drew in a shallow breath; that was better. She could go back to sleep now.

Then she felt an odd falling sensation, and reality left abruptly.

When she felt the tug of consciousness again it was because her head was pounding. Intermittently. That wasn't her heartbeat. Did she even have a heart beat anymore?

Elsa wanted to open her eyes, but they were apparently not connected to her brain and wouldn't listen. So she stayed were she was, noticing that it was a bit warmer than it had been the last time she almost woke up. And there was still a pounding in her head, and it was still irregular. She wondered what it was, but then she realised she didn't care. She didn't care about anything.

Except going back to sleep.

Wait, was her left arm on fire?

* * *

Kristoff could see the valley now. He could see movement in it, but he was too far away to tell who or what was moving.

Sven's strides were irregular, his tongue hanging out his mouth, his breath a shallow gasp. He was moving mechanically, unaware of anything except his burning legs. He stumbled once, twice, then went down, flinging Anna and Kristoff off.

Kristoff landed hard on his side, the breath knocked out of him. His vision exploded with stars, and for a terrifying moment he couldn't breathe, then his chest relaxed and he gulped in a big breath of air.

Anna was already on her feet, and didn't glance at either him or Sven. She started running, taking off for the valley. Kristoff sat up dizzily. He had to follow her, because he had the crystal that would help Elsa. He got to his feet, calling for Sven.

The reindeer remained where he had fallen, his sides heaving in and out, his eyes glazed and dull, his legs trembling.

"I'll be right back," Kristoff promised. "Right back. But I need to give this to Anna."

Sven made no effort to reply.

"Right back," Kristoff shouted over his shoulder, taking off after Anna.

Anna could see the giant troll. It was flailing around, swatting off the other trolls like pesky flies. She couldn't see Elsa. And the last snow cloud had gone, the only indication that Elsa was even alive.

The snow around the valley was thawing, and while it made it easier to run it also made Anna's heart pound because that meant Elsa's magic was failing. It was failing because Elsa's heart was failing.

* * *

The giant troll swept its arm along the ground, scattering little trolls like pebbles. It swept a path towards Elsa, grumbling when trolls jumped on it, tried to hold it back or distract it.

And then it heard someone shouting, and that was also annoying. It snarled, at everything, royally fed up with the way the day was going.

Anna came barrelling into its line of sight, planted herself between it and Elsa, and stood with her shoulders defiantly back, chest heaving, and eyes blazing with fury. "Leave her alone!"

The troll stared at her.

Anna had to gulp, and try to catch her breath. "You . . . you can't touch her. She's my sister."

The trolls began surrounding her, walling Elsa off, standing at Anna's sides.

"Go back to the mountain," Anna panted. "You have enough magic there."

"Stolen," the troll grumbled, leaning towards her.

"That was my fault," Anna snapped. "I had the crystal, I pushed her, she was angry at me, and that stupid crystal attacked her. I took your magic, not her."

The troll paused, sifting through this new information and wondering how to proceed.

Anna stood her ground, still panting.

* * *

Her arm was on fire, definitely. And she couldn't move, at all. She couldn't breathe, or move, or scream or even clench her fist. This was not how it was supposed to end. She was supposed to go to sleep and be peaceful forever, not die in absolute agony.

Reality was very far away, Elsa couldn't reach it. She couldn't do anything, except know that she was burning, and something had to be done. There had to be some way out of this. She searched the inky blackness of delusion for the sleep that had left her. It was further away than reality, and as the pain in her arm increased, so did the distance between her and comfortable, deadly sleep.

Then something else cut into the blackness of her mind, something familiar. Was that . . . Anna?

Anna. She had to say good bye to Anna. Elsa tried to open her eyes again, tried to get a grasp on her consciousness.

_Go back to sleep,_ her mind whispered. _It's so much better_.

_No_, she thought, uncertainly. Then she heard Anna's voice again, and a new wave of determination washed over her. _No. I've got to see her_. The storm inside her swirled again, pushing into her mind with cold spikes of agonizing reality.

Elsa tried again, and this time her eyes opened, and all her senses came back at once. The murky voices took shape, the ground beneath her was rock hard and warm, her whole body was on fire, and she could see rocks moving.

That didn't make a whole lot of sense, but since she could still hear Anna's voice Elsa was willing to assume she was in fact not dead, but in a reality where there were moving rocks. While that was puzzling, it was not the worst thing she had to deal with right now.

The two powers inside her, her ice and the red crystal, were warring, and with Elsa's shuddering reintroduction into the land of the living her ice was gaining in strength. She flashed hot and cold, as both powers duelled and fought, and waves of ice and fire ran up and down her left arm, occasionally spreading further.

But she was awake, and she was determined to stay that way. She was taking in a bit more, the rocks were coming into focus, and she could suddenly hear herself breathing, in with biting cold and out with burning fire. And her right arm was working, she could clench that hand, she could blink, and she could clearly hear her sister.

"If you're going to attack any one, it better be me," Anna said forcefully, with idiotic bravado. "Leave my sister alone and leave the trolls alone!"

Anna wasn't sure exactly what she was doing, but she figured babbling on and keeping the giant troll distracted would give her time to come up with a better plan. So far, she didn't have one, and the troll's expression was darkening.

It snarled, and blared, "Tiny trolls won't let me touch my magic!"

That was true, and Anna didn't really have anything to say about that. Could you reason with a rocky behemoth intent on shredding your sister? "They're just protecting their valley. It's not their fault, none of this is, it's my fault."

Elsa felt something tighten in her chest. Anna was trying to protect her, to protect everyone. She was putting herself in danger for Elsa.

The ice was surging, crackling through her in a more familiar manner, working with her instead of against her. It wasn't normal yet, Elsa was still cold, but it was wrapping around her heart like it used to.

"Leave everyone alone," Anna continued. "I won't let you hurt them."

"What can puny human do?" the troll boomed, raising a huge fist. "I'll smash you!"

The ice snapped into every pore of Elsa's body, her eyes locked onto the sight of a stony hand poised to smash Anna's skull into dust, she felt her heart beat quicken, once, twice. The magic pushed at her skin, hesitating for a moment in the confines of the valley.

Then the troll moved, and Elsa felt her heart tug, felt her body flash warm, felt her mind screaming, "No!"

Anna braced for impact, but before the troll could turn her into a pancake a pointed beam of ice rammed into its hand and knocked it away. Ice trailed on the stone, spreading and gripping like a fungus.

As Anna turned an expression of complete surprise towards Elsa, the very first thought in her head was, _Elsa's magic doesn't work in the valley._

Elsa had not been able to get up, but she had managed to mostly prop herself up on her left arm, and her right hand was still extended, with cool swirls of icy vapour dissipating around it. That one little bit of magic was an effort, and she was panting, fighting off another wave of dizziness, because she needed to be awake for this.

_Go to sleep_, the red magic whispered, snaking further into her body.

"No," Elsa snapped, in a hoarse whisper. She aimed another blast at the troll, this time encasing a thick leg in ice and anchoring it to the ground. Her eyes narrowed. "Don't. Touch. My sister."

Anna was stupefied, and rooted to the spot. She knew her jaw had dropped open.

The troll started hammering at the ice around its leg, chipping away at it and trying to free itself.

Anna finally uprooted herself and ran to Elsa, dropping to her knees near Elsa's head. "Are you alright?"

"Not at all." Elsa winced, and had to close her eyes because everything was spinning again and she refused to pass out now. She could hear the troll, yelling and pounding, and knew her ice wouldn't hold it for long. It just wasn't strong enough, _she_ wasn't strong enough.

The other trolls surrounded them, Bulda appeared at Anna's side. "The other magic is still here, and that troll won't leave without it."

"What do we do?" Anna asked. "Won't the crystal we brought back destroy that magic?" She looked around for Kristoff, thinking he should have been there by now. He was running towards them, and she sighed in relief. "Or will it take it out?"

Elsa wasn't hearing much of this, she was bobbing in and out of consciousness, and the ice and fire continued warring inside her.

"I don't know," Bulda admitted, and an out of breath Kristoff joined them. He didn't say anything, just took the blue crystal from his pocket and held it out, for whoever was interested to take.

Anna took it, and held it expectantly in front of Elsa, hoping it would just magically work and return everything to normal. It did nothing.

"What's plan B?" she asked. "This thing doesn't work."

"Give it to me," Bulda it away and studied it. "It hasn't been activated yet."

"I hate magic," Anna muttered. "Why is nothing ever straight forward?"

Bulda's reply was drowned out by an angry snarling troll stomping towards them, finally free of ice.

Kristoff's eyes darted between Elsa, and the troll's still frozen hand. He snatched the crystal from Bulda. "I have an idea. Anna, distract it."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"No time to explain, just do something." He pleaded.

Anna didn't look thrilled, but she scrambled to her feet, and ran directly towards the troll. "Hey! Big ugly troll!"

Kristoff grabbed Elsa by the shoulder and jerked her into a mostly upright sitting position, making sure she was facing Anna. The rough treatment made her open her eyes again, but everything was fuzzy and felt underwater. Kristoff shoved the blue crystal into her left hand, and the second it touched her skin the fire raging in her body went berserk.

It shot around her, in a blazing trail of agony, and Elsa screamed, the pain shocking her back into reality. Everything crashed back into focus, including the sight of Anna running like a twit towards a giant troll, nattering on and waving her hands above her head. And that made Elsa nearly have a heart attack, because Anna was in very serious danger.

Her heart stopped for a fraction, constricting in pure terror, then the blue crystal glowed to life, and the fire racing throughout her flickered once. Elsa's ice came rushing back, drowning the fire, and finally she could feel her left arm again.

The troll swung at Anna once, and never even came close to touching her. Ice erupted from the ground beneath it, trapping its legs and arms and stopping only when its entire body was encased and immobile.

Kristoff let Elsa's shoulder go to jump up in excitement, which turned out to be a mistake because she dropped flat onto the ground like a dead weight. All this falling on rock was likely to result in a concussion. Kristoff hastily pulled her upright again.

Anna returned to them to smile weakly, her face very pale, her body trembling slightly at the sheer stupidity of her actions and the fact that she could have been crushed like a grape. She sat down next to Elsa, their shoulders touching, and was relieved to feel that Elsa's skin felt the same way it normally did; cool and smooth.

Elsa groaned softly, prying her eyes open once more and finding herself still in the valley. How often was that going to happen? To her immense relief, however, she appeared to have both arms again. Her hand closed around the blue crystal. It was cool and refreshing, and still glowing softly.

The troll, however, was thrashing as best it could, and making an array of disgruntled noises that defied interpretation.

"What about that?" Anna asked. "It can't stay frozen here forever."

"I'll go wake Grand Pappie," Bulda said, and sauntered away. "He can erase its memory of this."

"Are you alright?" Kristoff asked Anna, looking concerned. "You're still shaking."

"It's just shock," Anna said. "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Don't worry about me. Hey, what happened to Sven?"

"I'm going to go fetch him now," Kristoff rose slowly to his feet, making sure Elsa was sufficiently propped up against her sister. "I'll be right back."

"We're not going anywhere, trust me." Anna said, and Kristoff gave her a quick, sincere smile, then turned and began jogging back the way they had come. Anna put her arms around Elsa, overwhelmingly relieved that she was alive, and held her tight.


	8. Chapter 8 - Things aren't Normal Yet

Chapter 8 – Things Aren't Normal yet

**Ugh, I'm so annoyed with myself I nearly forgot to update this . . . didn't save while drawing last night, Photoshop crashed and I lost my entire drawing. Apologies for spelling errors indicating an irritated author who's Elsa drawing vanished into thin air. Please enjoy this chapter, because I sure didn't.**

Elsa saw most of the next few hours in a fuzzy haze. Anna never left her side, talking non-stop and making sure everything went back to normal.

Grand Pappie was finally awakened, still weak and disorientated from the strange magic around, but he had been able to take the giant troll's memories and change them. That meant there was a large, confused troll in the valley who was convinced it had sleep walked here and needed to go back to its cave to continue hibernating.

Even more puzzling was that it was encased in ice, because there was no way Elsa was able to get rid of it, and Elsa's ice was incredibly hard to break. The trolls hammered away at it quite enthusiastically but it was obvious that it would take hours to break it.

There didn't seem to be anything else to do except chip away at the ice, while Anna chattered on about the cave with all the crystals and the beautiful frozen lake.

Then Kristoff finally returned, with Sven dragging his feet and looking ready to sleep for a month. The reindeer flopped onto the ground next to Anna, huffing his exhaustion and closing his eyes.

"Still stuck, huh?" Kristoff rapped his knuckles against the ice covering one of the troll's legs. "I could break through it with my ice pick, but it was smashed to splinters. Again." Trips with Anna seemed to result in an alarming number of destroyed sleds.

"How are we supposed to get home?" Anna asked. "Sven looks like he won't even make it all the way home, and Elsa not exactly going to walk."

"I'm fine," Elsa mumbled against Anna's shoulder. "We can go home anytime."

"Sure," Anna agreed. "We'll have a race to see who gets home first."

"Can't she do anything about this?" Kristoff kicked at the ice again, and nearly broke his foot. It was very solid.

Anna shook her head. "Nope. Not at the moment."

"Because it's trapped, and we can't leave it trapped." Kristoff mused.

"I'll put it to sleep for a while," Grand Pappie said. "For a day or two, and when Elsa is better she can come back and free it."

The giant troll was watching them all, looking baffled, and stuck. It had fallen silent.

Kristoff shrugged. "I guess that'll work."

"Sven can stay here," Anna said, "And you can go home and fetch someone. Elsa and I don't mind waiting."

"I can carry her back if you want," Kristoff said, snickering when Elsa glared at him.

"I do _not_ need to be carried," she said, "I'm perfectly capable of walking."

Anna nodded. "Leave us. Go and fetch someone, and explain what happened."

Kristoff grinned. "Okay. Don't do anything stupid. I'll be as quick as I can. Sven?"

The reindeer lifted his head.

"Stay and rest. I'll be back soon."

Sven grunted, then settled down again and dozed off.

Kristoff leaned down to give Anna a quick kiss on the lips, incredibly relieved that everything seemed to be going back to normal.

"You two are not dating," Elsa murmured without moving or opening her eyes, which made both Anna and Kristoff question how on earth she knew what they were doing.

Anna sighed, and Kristoff shrugged and left. "So, you're feeling better then?"

"Little bit." Elsa said. "And you two are not dating anymore."

"Can this wait until you're able to sit up on your own? You don't sound very convincing when you're passed out on my shoulder. Also, I don't want to listen to you right now, harping on about this."

"I do not 'harp'."

"You're _still_ talking about it. Can we just ignore the reason why you're angry at me for, I don't know, forever? We just had a nice moment here where I was trying to save you and you saved me." Anna put her arms around Elsa, drawing her in for a hopefully distracting sisterly hug.

Elsa's arms came around her, returning the embrace. She smiled. "I had to save you. You're my sister. And when I'm feeling better, I'm going to kill you."

"Thought so," Anna sighed. "Love you too."

* * *

Elsa slept for two days. Anna spent most of it hovering at her bed side, but she wasn't that worried. The weather had gone completely haywire, and Arendelle experienced three snowstorms over those two days, which didn't really please anyone except Anna, because it meant that however out of control Elsa's powers were, they were still there.

On the third day Elsa woke rather suddenly, her brain kicking into gear and snapping at her, _it's been two days think of all the work you've missed!_ She bolted upright in bed, her mind racing, feeling uncomfortable pulling across most of her body.

Being dropped repeatedly would do that.

Anna was snoozing at the window, and nearly jumped out of her skin at Elsa's sudden revival. "Oh, you're awake!"

"What day is it?" Elsa demanded. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"And here everyone said the rest would do you good," Anna sighed. "You've only said two sentences and both were demands. Can't you just be happy to see me?"

"Not in the mood, Anna, you should have woken me, what's been going on?" Elsa started getting up, but Anna jumped to her feet and held up a hand to halt her.

"You're supposed to stay put," Anna said. "Grand Pappie said your powers might still be a little off, and well, it's been snowing a lot these past few days."

Elsa glanced out the window, but the sky was clear at the moment. "What happened?"

"Well . . . what do you remember?"

"I remember you and Kristoff taking me to the trolls. Then there's this strange period that doesn't quite make sense, with you and a troll? But a bad one? Was I hallucinating?"

"No, that's pretty accurate." Anna said. "Listen, I know you're not quite well yet, but there's something Kristoff and I didn't tell you about your powers."

Elsa's expression shut down immediately; she looked guarded. "Yes?"

"You remember when your Ice Palace collapsed, right?"

"Yes." While most of the last few days were a disjointed haze of haphazard images, that particular scene was etched very vividly in her mind.

"That's not all that went away." Anna hesitated, knowing she was apt to ramble and Elsa liked more direct speech. "Olaf is gone, too."

It took Elsa a few seconds to fully process that, then she seemed to shrink slightly, her eyes dropping away from Anna's. For a moment she didn't speak, then said softly, "Oh."

"We were hoping maybe you could bring him back?" Anna phrased it as a question, because she wasn't sure if Elsa could or not.

Elsa didn't know either. "I don't know. I don't know if it works like that." All she knew about creating snowmen, animated ones anyway, was that they were always linked to a strong emotion. If she made another Olaf, would he have the same memories? Personality? Would he even be alive? She had no control over that, it just happened sometimes.

"Just something to think about," Anna said, trying to sound disinterested, because if she worried and fixated on it Elsa was going to worry and fret as well. "So, I should probably let you rest and go take care of some things." She started towards the door, but Elsa stopped her.

"Anna."

"Yes?" One hand on the handle, in case she had to escape.

"I might not remember the last few days, but I absolutely remember why we started arguing in the first place."

Damn. Anna was hoping that would have disappeared into the jumble of delirious hallucinations Elsa had been having. Apparently not. She just nodded. "We'll chat about it when you're better."

"I'm not changing my mind about it, and you and Kristoff-"

"Get better," Anna shouted, opening the door and sauntering out. She wasn't going to submit herself to another lecture about her behaviour when she was able to avoid it.

Elsa was more than just slightly annoyed at that, but her body was bruised and sore and she wanted to lie down again. Half of her did, the other half was itching to get up and get back to work, because she hated being idle.

So she lay down, with both hands above her blankets, and made a snowflake with her right hand. To her delight, it seemed to be working perfectly. She made a snowflake with her left hand, feeling an almost overwhelming sense of relief when one appeared without effort.

The relief didn't last long, because now that Elsa had wasted _how many_ days in bed doing nothing she was dying to get up and do something. She didn't care what it was. She was pretty sure, though, that if she so much as stepped outside her room any number of people would appear and tell to her rest, and relax, and not worry about a thing.

So, actual work was out of the question. But the source of this entire escapade – Anna and Kristoff – had been hanging over her head for too long. Elsa was not going to let Anna escape the inevitable conversation again.

With determination (and a small amount of regret that she ignored) Elsa stood up, taking a very long moment to stretch and see exactly what hurt where. (Everything, everywhere.) Then she peered outside her door, into the empty hall and mentally calculated where Anna was most likely to be.

She chose the portrait gallery at random, but her first guess was right because she could hear Anna's voice as she was approaching.

"I guess she'll be fine in a day or two." That was Anna.

Elsa was about to enter the room when another voice spoke.

"Great." It sounded like Kristoff, and that just irritated Elsa, because he wasn't supposed to be here. "So we can stop worrying?"

"Well, we still have to worry about Olaf because I don't know if – oh." Anna spotted her sister in the doorway. "Why are you up?"

"You walked out on our last conversation," Elsa said calmly.

Both Anna and Kristoff stiffened, and Kristoff shifted a bit further away from Anna on the bench the two of them had been sharing. He looked incredibly guilty, but Anna was stony faced and clearly ready for confrontation.

Elsa came a little further into the room, folding her arms across her stomach in a gesture Anna recognised as discomfort, though she wasn't sure if it was due to the imminent conversation or the fact that Elsa was probably decorated in bruises from being dropped so often on rocks.

Elsa stared at the floor, clearly planning her speech, and Anna wanted to roll her eyes, because Elsa should really have thought this through instead of standing there and keeping them in suspense.

Anna figured she should get the ball rolling. "We're not breaking up."

Elsa looked up at her, vaguely surprised that Anna had initiated the talk. "Yes, you are."

"There is no reason to."

"I've got a list." Elsa heaved a sigh, because this was going to be a battle. "Anna, we've gone over this before-"

"And you never listen to me."

Elsa raised an eyebrow, because she could remember having almost every sentence cut off the last time they had talked, which she was pretty certain indicated that _Anna_ was not listening to _her_.

"I'm happy," Anna continued, her voice rising slightly. "You have no idea how happy I am, because you never ask. You just keep working and expecting me to do the same, but that's not who I am. I want to be around people, and live my life, and try new things."

"I know. But there are some things you shouldn't be trying yet."

"No, that's just you," Anna snapped. "_You_ don't want me to do anything, but I'm not like you. I don't want to live my life behind closed doors. So you just need to accept that, and stop trying to make me like you."

"Anna, I'm not trying to change you, I'm just trying to protect you."

"How? By ruining everything good in my life? Kristoff loves me, and I love him, and you know what? He's always been there when I needed him, and you haven't!" As soon as the words left her mouth, Anna wished she could take them back.

Elsa's eyes widened a fraction, she took half a step as though blasted away by Anna's words. "Wh . . . what?"

Anna bit her lip, but she was this far up the creek, she might as well keep going. Maybe the explanation wouldn't sound as bad. "You were never there when I needed you. You didn't trust me enough to even tell me why. I went to our parents' funeral alone because you weren't there. You were shutting me out, and shutting everyone out, and I spent the whole night lying outside your door and crying and you never opened it!"

Elsa couldn't deny that. She knew Anna had been there, the night of the funeral. Because she had been in the exact same position, on the other side of the door, listening to Anna cry and stifling her own sobs. She tried to think of something to say, but Anna had hit a nerve. Very, very hard. "Anna . . ."

"Kristoff has never shut me out. He's never left me, not ever. His door is always open." Anna was standing now, her frustration making it impossible to stay still. "I know he'll be there, no matter what. But you never are, and I need someone in my life that is always there. You can kick me out if you want, I don't care, because he'll always be there."

"I would never kick you out," Elsa said softly, still recovering from Anna's last metaphorical punch in the gut.

"Well, maybe, if I'm such an embarrassment to you and to the throne, I should just leave. You wanted me to, didn't you?"

No, she never wanted that.

"I'll leave you and then there'll be no one to slander your good name, or disobey your ridiculous sets of rules, or have sex in your bed when you're not there."

"Anna!"

"Don't make me choose between you two," Anna shouted. "Just don't." She was about to storm out of the room when Elsa challenged.

"Would you?"

"What?" Anna asked.

"Would you choose?" Elsa asked, eyes darkening slightly. She kept silent, waiting for Anna to answer.

Anna wasn't brave enough to answer. Her eyes darted from Elsa to Kristoff, and back to Elsa. Her jaw tightened, then she clenched both fists and ran from the room.

Kristoff stood up.

"Don't move," Elsa said coldly. "You and I are having a chat."

He sat down again with a thump. Despite the cold air in the room, Kristoff was sweating. He had no idea what was going to happen, so he just sat stock still waiting for Elsa to speak first.

She fixed him with a glare, pinning him to the spot, and he assumed she was resisting the urge to freeze him where he sat. Finally, after a silence that stretched on much too long to be comfortable, she said, "What were you thinking?"

He didn't know what she meant. "About what?"

"Don't play dumb with me, it takes two to tango."

Oh, that. "I guess I was thinking that I love her, and she loves me, and well . . . it never felt wrong. This was something we both wanted."

"Will you always be there for her?"

Of all the things she could ask, he hadn't been expecting that. "Uh . . . yes. Of course."

"Why?"

This was getting stranger and stranger. "Well, because I love her. And she needs me. And I need her." He was stumbling over words, unable to put feelings into sentences, at least sentences that would make sense. "It's complicated to explain."

"Keep trying."

"Okay, well . . ." He hesitated, trying to organize his thoughts. They appeared to have taken a spontaneous sabbatical. "When you love someone you'll always be there for them, even if it's hard for you. And you'd do anything to make them happy, and if they aren't happy, neither are you. That's how I feel about her, I can't imagine life without her. She's a part of me, now. Um." He was running out of words. "I just want her to be happy and safe, and she's like that when I'm here for her so . . . I have to be here for her. No matter what."

That made him a little bolder, and he continued, "Even if it's you trying to get between us. You'll have to do more than yell at me to get me to leave. Because Anna and I are one, and I'm not going to abandon her. Ever. Not even for you." He stopped then, because he didn't know if that had made things better or worse.

Elsa's expression had not changed, and she had not moved. She kept glaring at him, and he stayed where he was, sitting perfectly still under her scrutiny.

She turned, stiffly, towards the door, most likely to follow Anna. Kristoff was about to sigh in relief when she paused. She looked back over her shoulder. "If I catch you in my bed again I will kill you."

He didn't know if that a good thing or not, so he kept quiet. Elsa left, and he let out a huge sigh of relief. He was unfrozen, and unscathed. The day was going better than expected.

* * *

Elsa wasn't sure what she thought of Kristoff. They had never spent any time together, and the only thing they seemed to have in common was Anna. Elsa was naturally wary of her sister's choice in men, but she also knew Anna was headstrong and enthusiastic and anyone who willingly spent massive amounts of time with her was either a blood relation or completely smitten.

She knew he was honest and hardworking, but she thought him to be a little, well, uncouth. Then again, that might spur from her aversion to people in general. Being locked in your room for thirteen years had a somewhat negative impact on your views towards others.

She stopped outside Anna's closed door; she had walked here on autopilot, and had no idea what to say. She knocked softly.

"Go away," Anna's voice was slightly muffled.

"I'm not going to." Elsa tried to the door. It was unlocked, and it opened.

Anna jumped off her bed with a slight scream of frustration and ran to the door, taking Elsa completely by surprise and slamming it shut in her face. Elsa heard the lock click.

"Not so nice, is it?" Anna could still be heard on the other side. "Get the message yet?"

"Yes." Elsa stared at the closed door. "But I'm still not leaving."

"I'm still not talking to you."

"Then just listen."

"I'm not doing that either!"

Elsa sighed softly. "Anna, I never want you to leave. I need you here. And I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you before. I wanted to. I thought I was protecting you, but I still hurt you. Please open the door, I want to talk to you."

"I know you can hear me through a closed door, because that's all I had to talk to for thirteen years."

Anna was not going to make this easy. Elsa leant her forehead against the door. "I don't want to fight about this-"

"Well, we're going to, because I am not breaking up with Kristoff just because you don't like him! You can't control everything I do."

"I'm just worried that the only reason you and Kristoff . . . well . . . you feel alone and you want someone to be there. But I'm here now. So you don't have to-"

"I wasn't sleeping with Kristoff because you were never there for me! I did it because I love him and I wanted to. This has nothing to do with you, and _that's_ what you can't accept! This is my life, my decisions, my choices. You're not a part of this _at all_!"

Anna was starting to tick Elsa off again. "This _is_ my problem, because I am still responsible for you, and your actions, especially how you are viewed in the public eye." Oh god, she was turning into her father.

"It's got _nothing_ to do with you!" Anna screeched from the other side of the door, and Elsa was glad it was closed because that sounded loud and she was bordering on a headache already. "This is _my_ life! And if you don't like it, maybe you should get out!"

Elsa took a step back as though physically stunned. There was a moment where she was so completely thrown by Anna's screaming that she didn't know how to respond. There was a swirl of ice twisting inside her, brushing gently against her heart, then settling like a dead weight in her stomach.

Fear. Sadness. Shock.

Then habit clamped down, quelling all emotion. Her voice was level when she answered. "Fine."

"What do you mean 'fine'?" Anna waited for an answer, but there was none. She called again. "Elsa? Elsa, did you leave?"

The door unlocked, and Anna peered out into the hall. It was empty, and chillingly quiet. "Elsa?"

Her voice sounded small and alone, and Anna was left with the unmistakable sense that no one else was around to hear her. She ran downstairs, back to the portrait gallery.

Kristoff was still sitting there, his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped together, looking deep in thought. He lifted his head when Anna barrelled in.

"Did Elsa come back this way?"

He shook his head. "Nope. How did the talk go? We chatted and it seemed to be going quite well."

"I think I made it worse."

Kristoff didn't know that was possible, but life with Anna had taught him to never underestimate the power of headstrong teenagers who blurt things out without thinking. "How?"

"It doesn't matter how. I'm going to see if she's in her room. Will you check her study?"

"Sure," Kristoff stood up, and Anna flashed him a brief smile before running out of the room again.

Elsa was not in her room. Nor her study. Anna and Kristoff circled the castle, figuring that Elsa could not have gone that far in the time it took Anna to open a door. But Elsa had spent years trying to be invisible, and she was nowhere to be found.

Kristoff imagined she'd be excellent at hide and seek, but kept his levity to himself, because Anna's expression was half upset and half furious. She had her arms crossed, shoulders hunched, tapping one foot impatiently against the floor.

He cleared his thought softly. "Maybe she's gone where she always goes when things get to hard to handle?"

"Except that it doesn't exist anymore," Anna snapped. "I basically just told her to get out of my life, what was I thinking?"

"The North Mountain," Kristoff insisted. "She'll be there."

"Why would she go there?"

"Because the last time she ran away and tried to start a new life, that's where she went. That's where she wanted to be."

"There's nothing there," Anna said again. "And her powers aren't working properly yet. She can't fix it."

"Her powers are linked to her emotions," Kristoff pointed out. "She can fix it."

"She's so angry right now she'll make a freakin' impenetrable fortress." Anna stated stomping out of the castle, with Kristoff in tow. "It'll be impossible to get in."

"No, it won't."

"How do you figure?"

"The door will be open."

* * *

It took Elsa about two seconds to realised her powers still weren't working, and about an hour after that to calm down from the first realization. Her first attempt to resurrect her broken down ice palace had ended with a flurry of snow blasting directly into her face, but she was no longer feeling the cold, so she had that going for her.

Her horse stood patiently in the snow, occasionally nosing around in case something thrilling to eat appeared in the cold white stuff.

Elsa tried to rebuild the icy staircase three times, then gave up and went the far less elaborate, but at least working, straight ramp of ice. And to her great relief, it held when she stepped onto it, and didn't send her plummeting to her death.

She stepped amongst the wreckage of the palace, and seeing it hurt, she could feel pain with every heartbeat. This palace was a part of her, an extension of her soul, and now it was lying broken and shattered around her.

It looked exactly how she felt.

She sat down on a chunk of unrecognisable ice, staring around, her shoulders slumped and her posture depressed. Now that she was here, she didn't know what to do. She couldn't fix it. She couldn't fix anything.

For hours she sat and just thought, occasionally making a few stray snowflakes, because little bits of magic were doable, and she needed to get it out somehow. Then she made a tiny snowman, and thought of Olaf. And then she slid down the chunk of ice so she could curl into a miserable ball and sob quietly into her knees, because Olaf was gone, and her powers were scrambled, and Anna wasn't talking to her, and she didn't know what to do with herself.

How long would it take to get everything back to normal? Her powers, her life, her sister?

Elsa tapped the fingers of one hand against the ice she was sitting on, and little turrets sprouted from it. She could make a miniature palace, she supposed. It was better than nothing. She spent the next few minutes playing around, making things and unmaking things, until she could see two people approaching in the distance.

Anna and Kristoff, of course, come to make sure she wasn't freezing the country again. Elsa found herself feeling incredibly annoyed at one of them, but pleased to see the other, and she had no idea which person was attached to which emotion. Perhaps she was equally annoyed and pleased with both of them?

She clenched her hands into fists. If she didn't even know how she felt about her own sister how on earth was she supposed to figure out how she felt about everything else? Then it suddenly occurred to her, perhaps her powers were out of whack because of this fight with Anna? And if that was resolved, her powers just might go back to normal.

Elsa stayed where she was, her expression guarded, as Kristoff waited in the snow and Anna stepped onto the crudely summoned ramp of ice leading towards Elsa.

She jumped up and down on it a few times, then shouted, "Is this safe?"

Elsa didn't answer.

Anna came haltingly across, looking down rather nervously, then sat on a chunk of ice near Elsa, angled slightly away from her. She didn't speak at first, just observed the wreckage around them and the little icy snowman at Elsa's feet.

"I didn't mean it," Anna said eventually.

"Yes, you did."

"I know. I was angry at you. But that's because every time I do anything new, you act like it's the end of the world. Like when Kristoff moved into the castle. Or when I wanted to go away without you. Or when I don't do the work you give me straight away, like it's going to melt if I don't do it. It'll wait. It's not the end of the world."

"It is to me," Elsa said softly.

"How? I'm not going anywhere."

"I don't know that," Elsa said, staring at the tiny snowman. "I just got you back. And so far I've been the worst sister in the world, and every time I look up you're trying to get further away from me."

"What?"

"You're spending whole nights with Kristoff. You're going on ridiculous adventures around Arendelle. You're skipping work to goof off all on your own. Everything you've done in the last few months has been moving you away from me. You're my little sister, and I'm supposed to be there for you and we're supposed to spend time together. A lot of time. But it's not happening, and now you've got Kristoff to replace me-"

"Oh, _that's_ what this is about," Anna said with a sudden epiphany. "I thought you were just a prude."

Elsa frowned at her, and Anna was once again reminded to think before speaking.

"Elsa, I'm not trying to get away from you. You seem to have forgotten that we skipped a few years. I'm not five years old anymore. Not everything I do has to be with you, but that doesn't make me love you any less. Wait, was one of the reasons you wanted Kristoff gone was so that you and I would spend more time together?"

Elsa shrugged, which was as good an answer as saying yes.

"So . . . what exactly got you all fired up about Kristoff and I?"

"I told you, you're not married, you're a princess-"

"No, those were your excuses. What was it that bothered you? What was your problem?"

Elsa shrugged again, clearly unsure of how to answer. "Well," she said haltingly. "I was trying to . . . I've been trying so hard to get to know you again. And be close to you again, which is all I wanted for thirteen years. And then I find out that you are . . . that's as intimate as a relationship can get, Anna. That's the final level of love. I was just disappointed and upset that we are not that close. As sisters, I mean. It just felt like you were replacing me with Kristoff, because I've never been there for you."

"I didn't mean that either."

"But you were still right. I wasn't there. I wasn't really angry at you, I was angry at myself. For not being there for you, and that made you want to find someone else to be there for you. I just wish it was me. You're the only person I have. I wanted to be the only person you had, too."

"Life doesn't work like that," Anna slid off her icy seat to sit next to Elsa. "I love having people around me, and I know you don't. Kristoff can't ever replace you; you're my sister. I love you, you know that? And I love Kristoff too, in a completely different way. And you know what?" Her voice took on a jauntier tone. "I've got enough love to share between both of you."

Elsa smiled, very fondly, and felt her heart flutter a little. "I know you do."

"So, can you please not kick my boyfriend out?"

"I'm still very angry about the bed thing," Elsa said, her face shutting down again. "I want to freeze Kristoff for letting it happen."

"I think we both know it was my idea."

"It's _my space_, Anna."

"Don't get your icy panties in a twist, we always changed the sheets."

Elsa covered her eyes with a hand, taking a few measured breaths because Anna's super power was apparently pushing Elsa's buttons. She remained perfectly calm. "I'm locking the door if I'm not in the room, from now on."

"That's okay. There are plenty of rooms in the castle that you never go into."

"That's not funny."

"It is a little bit." Anna stood up, dusting fleck of snow off her clothing. "Come on, let's go home."

"We still need to talk about this." Elsa stood as well. "Don't think you can get me to forget the-"

"So," Anna interrupted, "There's still a troll frozen in the valley that needs to be thawed. Are you up to it?"

Elsa sensed that this conversation was not going to go the way she wanted. "Fine. Let's go."

"Great! And you promise you won't freeze Kristoff?"

"One thing at a time."

**Going to try drawing again . . . And saving frequently.**


	9. Chapter 9 - Finding Normalcy

Chapter 9 – Finding Normalcy

The giant troll was still frozen in place, but it was looking around in a very relaxed manner, perfectly content and silent, and appearing no more menacing than the little trolls milling around it and greeting enthusiastically.

Elsa hovered uncertainly at the edge of the valley, and her uncertainty made the ice inside her flicker and surge, mirroring her conflicting emotions.

Anna raised both eyebrows when she realised Elsa had failed to follow her into the valley, and resisted the urge to put her hands on her hips. "Come on, Elsa."

"In a moment." Elsa could feel the magic in the valley, just in front of her, warm and cloying. She knew her magic had worked inside the valley once. She could see the effects of it right in front of her. But would it work again?

Anna was impatient, and grabbed Elsa's wrist and tugged her forward. "Come on, don't be a baby."

"I'm not a baby," Elsa muttered. The air in the valley was too warm; it might be inviting to some people but to Elsa it just felt wrong and enveloping. She could her feels her powers trapped inside her, and after spending so much time without them it was terrifying to think of them being suppressed again. She knew that feeling would pass, too, because she had never worried about being in this valley before.

But it felt different now, the whole world felt different.

She stared at the giant troll, feeling her ice biting at the tips of her fingers, wondering how she had managed to do this when she had been so weak, and unaware. She couldn't even remember most of that day, just little snatches here and there. And now she was wondering how on earth she was supposed to free this monster, because her powers had clamped down and refused to listen.

"Hey, Elsa?"

She blinked, bringing herself out of her thoughts.

Anna looked slightly worried. "You okay? You seem a little spacey."

"How did I even do this?" Elsa asked, taking a few tentative steps towards the troll.

"I have a theory," Bulda said, startling Elsa by appearing in her personal space. "Your magic never worked here before because it was always fuelled by fear. And our home is filled with enough love to block out your powers." That made sense to Anna, since love thaws. "But when you saw Anna almost getting hurt, your magic responded to your love towards her."

Elsa would have characterised the moment she saw Anna nearly being crushed by a troll as incredibly fear-driven, but she supposed there must have been enough love in there for Bulda's theory to make sense. She laid a hand on the ice around the troll, looking at it and feeling her magic shift and change inside her.

Anna was at her shoulder, close enough that they almost touched, looking absolutely serene. "You can do it. I know you can."

"Last time you said that I froze your heart," Elsa pointed out, but she wasn't really bitter or even thinking about that. She was running her hand along the ice, and to her delight it was softening and starting to disappear. A bubble of joy formed inside her, and Elsa felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders because finally, _finally_, something was going the way it should.

After a few moments the giant troll was free, and bewildered. It snuffled a bit, disorientated, then lumbered away, heading towards the mountains again.

"That's one problem solved," Anna said. "One to go."

Elsa sent her sister a questioning look.

"Olaf," Anna explained. "You still have to bring him back."

Elsa glanced towards her hands. "I don't know if I can."

"You haven't tried yet."

Kristoff cleared his throat softly. He edged a bit closer to Anna, but was careful to stay away from Elsa. "Maybe take things a little slower?" he suggested. "Her powers still aren't back to normal."

"What's your point?"

"My point is," he whispered, so no one but Anna would hear him, "that if she tries to bring him back and fails she's going to feel terrible. Maybe wait until it's a sure thing?"

"Oh. That does make sense." Anna nodded.

Elsa was watching them, wondering what all the whispering was about.

"Well," Anna said cheerily. "Let's go home."

* * *

It turned out that going home didn't really make anything better. Anna assumed that the discussion about her and Kristoff's, uh, relationship would have made things better, because she and Elsa had actually talked instead of just screaming at each other in the endearing way sisters discuss things like utter betrayal and complete recklessness.

But Elsa did not seem any more placated than she had before the whole crystal and troll incident. She was fidgety, and unsettled, and Anna noticed her playing with the end of her braid, which she had never seen Elsa do before.

When Elsa hesitated in the hall, half way between her room and Anna's, Anna took pity on her and finally asked. "Are you alright?"

"This is my fault." And Elsa's continuous streak of self-doubt was still more powerful than her ice powers.

Anna almost rolled her eyes, but resisted, and instead said as soothingly as she could manage, "Don't be silly."

"I was the one who over reacted. It's my fault my powers were attacked by that stone, it's my fault you almost got frozen again, it's my fault Olaf melted and it's my fault you're upset."

"You didn't _over_ react; we expected that." Not the best thing to say, under the circumstances, but it was the first thing that popped into Anna's head. "Kristoff and I knew you'd flip your lid if you ever caught us."

"But it's still my fault."

Anna didn't have anything to say about that, she hesitated, thinking hard. There was nothing she could say to comfort Elsa right now. So for once, she said nothing, just continued on her way to her room, deep in thought and unable to do anything.

* * *

Elsa closed herself in her room, and sat down on the floor with her back against the door. Almost immediately, trails of ice began spiralling out from underneath her, crackling across the floor and up at the wall and door. The cold was familiar and comforting, and Elsa let her eyes slide closed.

She still didn't feel right; there was still something amiss with the magic inside her.

She wished she knew what it was.

* * *

Anna spent the night lying on her back and staring at the ceiling, running through the reasons for Elsa's current emotional turmoil.

Elsa could hide behind excuses all she wanted, but Anna knew that she still had not been told the real reason for Elsa's hectic reaction to her and Kristoff being intimate. While Elsa's explanation about feeling abandoned and replaced made sense, Anna did not think it was the reason for her powers going so out of control.

Sure, the Magic Stone was responsible for some of it, but Elsa was still not herself, and there was only her magic and emotions left. There was another reason, a non-magic related reason, for Elsa's unhappiness.

Anna had a sneaking suspicion that whatever the problem was, it linked back to Olaf. After all, he had been the first thing to go awry when Elsa's powers went a bit loopy. Was that a coincidence? Or was there something about the snowman that Anna had missed?

Elsa had created him and the Ice Palace at the same time, Anna mused. But Elsa had just seemed quietly upset about Olaf, whereas she had positively bawled at the Palace's demise. They were both linked to Elsa's emotional breakthrough of _let it go_, but for some reason the Snow Queen had been much more upset over the inanimate palace than over a talking, singing snowman.

Of course!

Anna bolted upright in her bed. Elsa had known about the Ice Palace _first_, one of two very important magic-related things to her. She had wasted all her emotional reaction on the Palace, just like she had freaked out at Anna the second she discovered she had been sleeping with Kristoff. But by the time she knew about Olaf, Elsa had decided her powers were a problem again and had clamped down on her emotions and was no doubt spending hours every day repeating 'don't feel' to herself.

That was the problem, Anna concluded. Elsa was keeping her feelings all bottled up again. And who could blame her? When she'd let them out she had been shot by a red crystal, nearly crushed by a falling palace, and almost frozen Anna again.

Anna didn't know how she was going to do it, but she really needed Elsa to admit whatever she was feeling. That was going to be challenging, because Elsa was the queen of denial. One thing Anna had learnt, though, was that out of every one in the world, she was the absolute best at pushing Elsa's buttons.

Anna needed Elsa to have another meltdown, and she was going to get it.

* * *

Elsa was not hiding. She was just catching up.

That's what she told herself the next morning when she heard Anna knock on her study door and she sat absolutely still, barely breathing and not saying a word. And when Anna knocked again, a bit more persistently, Elsa remained perfectly rigid and silent, and clamped down on any sort of guilt that might be rising.

She could sit there all day, if she had to, keeping quiet. She could do it for thirteen years.

But even though Elsa could be quiet, Anna could not, and she started half shouting through the door. "I know you're in there, because I've looked everywhere else, and no one saw you leave. If you don't want me to come in, you better lock the door fast."

There was another moment of silence where Elsa sat undecided, hovering between the idea of leaping to the door and locking it as fast as she could, or remaining in silent denial and pretending Anna wasn't there.

The door handle depressed, and Elsa wished she had chosen the former. Anna came into the study, closed the door softly behind her, and just stood there, staring at her sister.

Elsa kept working, keeping her eyes down and willing her hand to stay steady, but she could feel it shaking.

Anna's voice was softer than she had been expecting. "You can't hide from everything, you know."

"I'm not hiding." There was a very slight tremor in Elsa's voice.

"Yes, you are. It doesn't matter what you use as a shield, you're still hiding. Behind a closed door, behind a palace of ice, behind your work. I thought we were past that."

Elsa didn't answer.

"You need to admit that you're upset over Olaf. Tell me how you feel."

Angry. Sad. Depressed. Useless. Out of control. Fragile. "I'm fine." She couldn't help it; she didn't know how to express it. She still hadn't looked up.

"You're not fine," Anna came a little closer. "You're _pretending_ to be fine. You're shutting everyone out again."

"I don't know why my powers are still messed up, it doesn't make sense, and it's frustrating." Elsa still didn't look up. She kept her gaze stubbornly on her desk, trying her hardest to continue writing with a shaking hand.

"I know why." Anna was right next to her now. "Because you're unhappy, and you won't tell me why."

"Because I don't know!" Elsa finally stopped working, sitting up a little straighter. "I don't know why I'm still angry, but I'm pretty sure it's because of you."

"What on earth do I have to do with Olaf?"

Elsa stared at her, and Anna could see her slowly connecting the dots. Anna wasn't sure where Elsa's thoughts were going, but she could see the wild blue eyes suddenly dawning with understanding, then Elsa slumped slightly in her chair.

Anna sat down on the edge of the desk, so she could still see Elsa, and waited for an explanation.

Elsa's mind was racing. Anna's question finally had answer: Elsa's powers were still unsettled because she was completely uncertain about how she felt about Anna right now. And she was attached to Olaf in the emotional web of Elsa's mind, the two of them together represented childhood, and happiness, and a more innocent time of life before Elsa's whole world changed. When Elsa had caught Anna and Kristoff in her bed (and that still made her angry, just thinking about it in passing) she had been forced to let go of the best memories she had: that Anna was an innocent little girl, full of sunshine and laughter and love.

But she wasn't. And nothing was the same any more. Elsa sighed, a heavy, depressed sort of sound. "You broke me down."

"I did what?" Anna didn't understand. She tilted her head to one side, quizzically.

"Everything was perfect. You and I . . . were building snowmen before this started. Just like we used to. Just like the way it was. That's all I wanted. Just you . . . as my little sister."

"I'll always be your little sister."

"No, you'll always be my sister. Suddenly, you're not so little anymore, and I didn't know how to handle that. I still don't. I'm seeing you in a whole different way, now. I'm not ready for it."

"Olaf was our childhood," Anna realised. "That's what he meant to you. And . . . I took that away. But, Elsa, people grow up. You and I . . . we're still sisters and I still love you."

"You threw too much at me at once. I got overwhelmed."

"How can we fix this?"

"We?" Elsa echoed.

"Well, yeah. Even if the Magic Stone screwed up your powers, I bet Olaf wouldn't have melted if you hadn't been so upset with me. You felt like you lost our whole childhood. And you can't bring him back yet, because you're still sitting here muttering 'don't feel' under your breath."

"I do not mutter."

"I know how to fix this. Come with me," Anna hopped down from the desk, and held out a hand expectantly.

Elsa hesitated. "Anna, I'm not sure if this is a good idea. What if I hurt you?"

"I'll deal with it." Anna snatched Elsa's hand, tugging her to her feet. "Come on. The sooner we fix this the sooner you'll feel better."

Elsa let herself get dragged from the study. "You don't even know how to fix this."

"I've got an idea. Trust me."

"You know I do, but-"

"No buts! That's half the issue here, you always look for the problems, instead of the good things."

"And you only ever see the things you want to see."

"Right now?" Anna was still dragging Elsa through the castle, looking back over her shoulder and somehow not walking into walls. "I wish you could see what I can see."

"What do you see?"

"I see you. And I see you smile. And I see that you're stronger than you think. And I see you following me, just like you used to." Anna sent a brilliant smile over her shoulder.

Elsa had to smile back, there was no way to avoid it. "Well, what I can see right now is pretty great too."


	10. Chapter 10 - Putting it all Together

Chapter 10 – Putting it all back Together

**Welcome to the final chapter of Things Go Awry, because I've honestly run out of story. Unless someone gives me a fantastic idea to continue this, it will be finished. I hope you've enjoyed it. Carry on then.**

Elsa regretted letting Anna drag her out of the castle almost immediately. She could handle her own emotions; she was getting that right, at least. She could handle the fact that Anna was growing up. She could handle the fact that Kristoff was still hanging around the castle, because even she was able to acknowledge that her reaction towards him might have been a bit over zealous.

She could not handle what Anna wanted her to see.

And that was a very lonely-looking reindeer lying on the floor in the stables, with his chin resting on a carrot and a little twig under his cheek, and refusing to move.

"He's been there since we got back," Anna said quietly, keeping a death grip on Elsa's wrist in case she bolted. "He's waiting for Olaf to come back."

Elsa didn't say anything; she found her eyes glued to the slightly discoloured spot on the floor, evidence of water soaking in, and the dull eyes of a grieving reindeer.

"Kristoff says he won't get up, and he won't eat." Anna continued softly. "He just lies there."

"Anna . . ."

"He got up for you, you know. He ran as fast as he could to the trolls. He carried me back from the mountain until he couldn't run anymore."

Elsa hoped Anna would get the point soon, because she could feel her heart cracking.

"He tried his hardest because he thought you would bring Olaf back."

"Whats the point, Anna?" Elsa asked hoarsely.

"My point is . . . don't hold onto things with the wrong feelings."

That didn't help at all; Elsa had no idea what Anna was on about.

"Let me explain it better. You're still . . . you're upset that I slept with Kristoff because you feel like our childhood is over and it's the best memories you have of us together. But instead of loving those memories, you're bitter towards them. And towards me. And Kristoff."

Elsa couldn't deny that.

"But . . . what you feel doesn't only affect you. Sure, your powers aren't working and _that's_ just affecting you, but whatever you feel affects everyone around you."

Elsa was going to need a translator. She sent Anna a quizzical look, struggling to connect the dots in Anna's mangled psychobabble.

Anna sighed. "You're unhappy. Which means that I'm unhappy too, because if you're not happy then I'm not happy. If I'm not happy, Kristoff isn't happy. If he's not happy, Sven isn't happy. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"Not at all. All I see is a depressed reindeer."

"Your life, and your feelings, aren't just for _you_. They're-"

"Everyone is connected," Elsa finally figured it out, and explained out loud in much clearer description than Anna ever could. "Our lives are not singular, and do not run alone. We are a web, and we are all connected and dependant on one another. The fact that I'm . . . struggling with accepting you as an adult, means that my string on our web of emotions is broken. And everything I was supporting, Olaf, Arendelle, my powers . . . they are all broken as well."

"That's what I said."

"It's not about me. It's about everything I support."

"Great. Good character development. Now, how about fixing it?"

"How?" Elsa was still staring at Sven, and she could feel the weight of his despair on her own shoulders. "Am I supposed to just forgive you and pretend everything is fine? I'm angry with you, Anna, for so many reasons, and I don't know how to deal with that."

"Let the bad memories go," Anna suggested. "Don't hang on to the things you're feeling."

"It's not that easy."

"I know how to help."

"Last time you said that you showed me a dejected reindeer, I'm not sure how much more 'help' I can handle."

"Trust me. Please?" Anna looked so sincere, and beseeching, that Elsa heard herself sigh.

"Fine. I trust you."

Anna's smile did not falter, even when Elsa added under breath, "I just don't like you much right now."

* * *

Anna's next location on her world tour of make-Elsa-feel-bad was the ruins of the Ice Palace, and once Elsa realised that's where they were going she had fallen silent, no doubt flummoxed as to why Anna would bring her back here as part of a feel good mission.

Because looking at the broken down chunks of ice, misshapen and unrecognizable from the gorgeous palace it had once been did not cheer Elsa up in the least. In fact, she thought this might be a step backwards from their end goal.

"How is this helping?" she eventually asked, unable to stand the silence anymore. Her heart was already racing, her eyes locked onto the bleak sight in front of her. "Anna, how is this supposed to change how I feel about . . . everything?"

"We've established that you're upset about Olaf and losing your childhood." Anna said, then muttered, "Even though I'm an adult and I can do what I like, so tough luck." She continued in a more normal voice, "And you're hanging onto all that angsty emotion. You know what you need to do?"

Elsa could see where this was going.

"You need to let it go."

She was going to slap her sister. Luckily no one would see it. "Anna-"

"No, no, no!" Anna interrupted, and a part of Elsa was pleased that their conversations were back to normal, with Elsa being unable to finish a sentence. "Don't tell me I'm wrong! This will work. And you'll feel better."

She gestured extravagantly at the ruins of the palace. "Okay, fix it!"

Elsa stared at her blankly. "I can't fix it."

"Of course you can."

"My powers aren't working properly-"

"They work fine. You don't want to try it, because if you fail you'll feel bad and if you do fix it and put everything back to normal you'll have to admit that you've accepted that things have changed between us. But change isn't bad, it's just different."

_Since when did Anna become a psychologist?_ Elsa thought absently, but there was a warmth in her heart that knew Anna was right. She needed to trust herself, and try this. She needed to forgive Anna, for certain things anyway, because holding onto that animosity was damaging her. And that bled over into the relationships she had with others, because everything, everyone, was connected.

The Ice Palace had been a symbol of her new found self-worth, her confidence, it was who she was. It represented what she felt, and even though Elsa knew it was largely symbolic, having something tangible to represent herself was helpful. The palace was _real_, she could touch it and feel it, and it meant that everything she felt was real as well.

Her emotions had a face, and having them concrete made them easier to understand and acknowledge.

Anna watched Elsa's internal realisation in silence, until she couldn't keep quiet anymore. "So you'll put it back together? The whole palace?"

Elsa was still looking at the wreckage, but rather than pure sadness there was something else shining in her eyes. Hope, perhaps. A sliver of faith that everything could be alright again. "I'll put our lives back together."

* * *

Sven sighed, his breath washing over the damp spot on the floor beneath his chin. The thoughts of a reindeer are not particularly eloquent, and his mind was fragmented into primal bits of knowledge and understanding. To an animal, if something disappears there exists the logic that it will reappear in the same place.

Anything out of sight could not be comprehended, and abstract thought did not exist.

So Sven stayed where he was, because that's where Olaf had been last, and thus that was the place he would be again. Time is irrelevant, and Sven was going to wait. If he waited long enough, the snowman would return. That was how it had always been in his life; if Kristoff vanished inside a door, he would reappear from the same door. If Olaf went around the corner, he would reappear from the same corner. Sven didn't know where Olaf had gone, but waiting, he was certain, would bring him back.

Kristoff joined the reindeer on the floor again, patting him affectionately, but staying quiet. He didn't know what to do about Sven, so he had done the thing he was best at: just being there. Sven's eyes were closed, and his deep, even breathing told Kristoff that he was sound asleep.

That was how they were when Anna and Elsa returned, sitting quietly together. Kristoff offered Anna a tentative smile, still uncertain of where they stood as a couple, because Elsa looked frigid and hunched next to her sister.

But Anna was perfectly relaxed, returning Kristoff's smile warmly. "Hi!"

He nodded at her. "Hey."

Elsa let out a pent up breath when she saw Sven again, and Kristoff noticed her bite her thumb for a second, eyes on the sleeping reindeer, before she seemed to realize what she was doing and straightened her posture.

"Elsa's going to bring Olaf back," Anna said softly.

Kristoff thought it best to stay quiet.

Elsa didn't look like she was going to do anything, hovering nervously at Anna's shoulder and chewing on her bottom lip.

"Remember all the good things," Anna said. "They aren't gone. I'm still here."

Elsa went to Sven, and to Kristoff's surprise she actually knelt down on the floor on front of him, with the carrot and the two twigs still between them. When Elsa just sat there doing absolutely nothing, Anna came to her side as well, and sat down.

Elsa was staring at the spot on the floor, each breath she took clearly visible.

"Hey," Anna whispered, leaning gently against Elsa's side. "It's all right."

Elsa's hands were shaking; she was trying to stop them. She closed her eyes, trying to focus, because she knew from experience that using her powers without being calm often ended badly. She felt Anna breathing next to her, as though preparing to speak again, and Elsa wanted to tell her not to. Because so far a lot of what Anna said had not been helpful, but Anna's next whispered sentence made everything seem better.

"Do the magic . . ."

* * *

Sven opened his eyes, because he could feel snow falling on his nose.

* * *

Anna would have been happy to spend the night exactly where she was. The heat of the sunny summer day was fading, and Elsa was deliciously cool and comforting. Anna sighed contentedly, lying against Elsa's side on the couch in the study, one arm draped across her stomach, eyes closed and her cheek against the cool skin of Elsa's arm.

Elsa had been reading for the past few hours, and every now and then Anna's sleepy haze would be interrupted by the sound of a page turning. They had been like that, with Elsa half propped on an armrest, for most of the afternoon.

Kristoff had gone 'somewhere' to do 'something', which meant that Anna had tentatively asked Elsa if they could talk, just the two of them. Elsa had agreed just as hesitantly, because neither of them was entirely sure what the other was thinking at the moment.

But everything had gone better than Anna had expected. They had ended up talking about times before the closed gates. Elsa had told Anna about her memories that had been changed. Anna had told Elsa about what she used to do just after the gates were closed. They had taken the time to finally catch up with each other, filling in the gaps from thirteen years, and Anna had felt Elsa slowly relaxing as the time passed.

Things between them were still slightly tense, but Anna thought they were making progress. Elsa had stopped glaring at Kristoff every time she saw him. The temperature in the room didn't drop to below freezing whenever Anna and Kristoff were near each other. And while Elsa had decided that Kristoff did not need to be banished and Anna was still allowed to be in a relationship with him, she had made it perfectly clear that she didn't want to know anything about their physical relationship. At all.

Anna had agreed to that readily, because she didn't want Elsa to know what they doing just as much as Elsa didn't want to know.

When conversation had started to dwindle, Anna had curled into Elsa's side and dozed off, while Elsa continued reading, and nightfall was finding them in a peaceful tangle of limbs. They were uninterrupted for hours, until there was a soft knock at the door, and Elsa glanced up. "Come in."

The door opened slowly, and Kristoff peered around. "Um. Hi."

"Hi." Elsa closed her book.

Kristoff shuffled further inside. "Am I interrupting?"

"No." Elsa glanced at Anna, who appeared to be asleep.

"I have something. To thank you for not freezing me to death, and for letting me be a part of Anna's life."

"She deserves it."

"I know you're not happy about the whole . . . sleeping thing." Kristoff turned slightly red. "But I promise, I'll never hurt her."

"I know you won't. This is who Anna is, and I'm not about to tell someone who they can and cannot be."

"Thanks." Kristoff dug into his pocket, and drew out a fine silver chain, with a familiar blue stone hanging from it. "It's your stone. The one that saved you."

A soft, glowing smile settled on Elsa's face as she took the stone, turning it around and studying it from every angle. "Thank you."

Anna shifted against Elsa's side, and Elsa nudged her. "Anna. Wake up."

"Don't wanna." Despite her words, Anna blinked and yawned, and finally noticed Kristoff. "Hi."

"I got you one too," Kristoff said, his hand searching in his pocket again. "This one really is a fire stone. I checked. Like, six times." He handed the little red stone to Anna, who dangled it delightedly in front of Elsa's face.

Elsa drew back slightly. "Very pretty. Keep it away."

"It's perfectly safe." Anna sat up properly, and fastened the chain around her neck.

Kristoff looked pleased. "Thought you might like it. I've just got to find out where Sven is spending the night, then I'll go to bed. My bed. Alone."

"Good choice," Elsa said dryly.

Anna hopped to her feet to give him a hug. "We can talk more tomorrow. Where is Sven, anyway?"

"Outside, somewhere, playing." Kristoff backed away, nodding respectfully towards Elsa. "Good night."

"Good night," she replied softly.

Kristoff closed the door to the study again, and Anna bounced to the window. "Sven's out there."

Elsa joined her, looking down at the reindeer. He was bounding around quite happily.

"Look at him," Anna giggled. "Both of them."

Elsa twisted the silver chain around her fingers.

"We don't spend enough time playing, you know that?" Anna mused, then asked, "Do you want to build a snowman?"

Elsa looked at Sven, cavorting and playing with his friend, and smiled. "I already did."

**The End.**

**Excuse my inability to write conclusions.**

**SpicedGold**


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